Dual Destinies
by WolfieRed23
Summary: Their home world lost, Miliana and Liliana are found by the new generation of Keyblade masters and taught under them to wield Keyblade of their own and fight the Heartless. Join them as they must discover why there are more Heartless sprouting in the worlds and search for their home world. SYOC! Closed, at least for now.
1. Chapter 1:Prologue

**Hello everyone! For those of you who don't know, this is not, technically, a new story for me. It was a collab me and Katon Dragonfly, another FF author, were planning to do as a revamp of another story written by Legacy918. Unfortunately, Katon has lost the will to write this story so I will be writing it on my own from now on, with help from Katon as needed. This is an SYOC and the guidelines are on my profile. Please follow them exactly. I will let any authors of accepted OCs know as soon as I can. I will accept 6-8 OCs, they can be students or villain henchmen if you like, and I reserve the right to make any necessary changes. Please no loner characters, make them unique! Also, the next part is very important so make sure you read it.**

 **I DO NOT HAVE A WORKING LAPTOP OF MY OWN AT THE MOMENT SO THIS STORY WILL NOT BE UPDATED UNTIL I GET A NEW ONE. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT AND PLEASE DON'T LEAVE REVIEWS ASKING WHEN I'LL UPDATE, I WILL DO IT AS SOON AS I CAN.**

 **Miliana belongs to Katon, Liliana belongs to me and I don't own anything related to KH!**

 **Now enjoy the show!**

* * *

 **Prologue**

 **Location: Aqueduct**

Tch. Tch. Tch. Tch. Two pairs of footsteps echoed inside Radiant Garden's lonely sewer system, accompanied only by mouse squeaks and trickling water. It was difficult to see in the darkness but the taller figure, a man in his late twenties, guided them through the bridges and platforms with the torch he held in his hand. Slender arms poked through the holes in his plated red and black vest, his legs were completely covered by khaki pants, though. His long, spiky red hair bobbed slightly with each step he took but his emerald green eyes never shifted.

"Lea~!" A girl whined.

The redhead looked back at the short, silver-haired girl lagging behind him. She wore a tight short sleeved white shirt that revealed her midriff and cleavage. A layered sea green skirt fell to her mid-calves, opened completely on the front to reveal a pair of black shorts underneath.

He snapped in annoyance, "What?!"

Unphased, she reciprocated his attitude.

"You're walking too fast!"

"No I'm not." He turned his head forward. "You're closer to the ground. Shouldn't it take you less time to walk?"

Lea heard her pace increase so he remarked, "Much better."

Suddenly, he felt something push against his back and soon he was caught between his curvy companion and the the cold cement. The torch had slipped from his thin fingers and slid across the ground.

"Mili!" he yelled.

"I'm not getting off of you until you apologize!"

The silver-haired girl crossed her arms and huffed while she sat on his back.

Lea smirked and said, "You do know you weight like ten pounds, right?"

She started to lose her balance when the redhead began pushing himself off the ground. Mili managed to keep her face from smacking against the concrete but she still had to crouch until she regained her balance and could stand up. Lea walked over to the torch and lifted it.

"Now stop messing around. It won't be much longer before we make it out of these sewers."

"It's not that bad. Having to share a Gummi Ship with you is probably worse."

He chuckled and retorted, "That's my manly musk, 'kay?"

"Whatever. How much longer 'til we-"

Mili stopped talking when she saw a small light at the end of the tunnel.

"Happy?" Lea asked, sarcastically.

She merely grumbled in response and followed him towards the exit.

* * *

 **Location: Market**

"So, what's our mission?" Mili asked as she looked around the bustling market.

"According to the other masters, the rate of Heartless appearing here are higher than normal. It might be a little tough but our mission is to take the source out and return to the Land of Departure for a rundown on what's going on."

Mili squealed, "You mean I get to see Lili again?!"

With a wince, the red-haired man rubbed his ear.

"I'm right here, you know? Yes, you get to see your sister."

"Alright." Mili nodded as she stretched and resisted the urge to jump up and down in excitement at the prospect of seeing her sister again. "So where are all of the Heartless?"

Lea threw his hands behind his head and shrugged.

"Don't know."

"How do you not know?!"

"I'm not all-seeing, you know?!"

The two stared each other down, jade meeting hazel. Their staring contest halted when screaming erupted from further down the marketplace and people began running away from the residential area. A group of Soldier Heartless came right after, slashing away at people with their crimson claws.

"Found them." Lea grinned.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious." Mili snapped, sending a glare his way.

Putting his hand forward, flames spun violently until an oddly-shaped sword with a spiked octogonal guard and flame-like blade appeared in his hand.

"Just come on, will ya'?"

He charged for the Heartless with Mili close behind. Effortlessly, she called forth her own weapon. It's round, yet triangular hand guard was coated with a dark blue paint. Emeralds erupted around the bottom of the blade, where the silver and teal metal met the guard. It curved towards the tip and opened up into more emeralds. As a whole, the sword was modeled after a key. A Keyblade, if you would.

The two companions ran their swords through the enemy, slicing their limbs and piercing their torsos. Once impaled or beheaded, the monsters faded away into a dark mist and a small glowing heart would emerge from their corpses before drifting off into the sky like a flock of balloons.

"What were you saying about this being a hard mission?" Mili smirked as she beheaded another monster.

"Don't get too cocky. Remember what happened last time?" Lea chided.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Mili shook it off, not even listening to what her partner was saying. Lea recognized the tone the silver-haired girl's voice had taken and groaned under his breath. He knew what was coming next.

Without warning, Mili took off into the mob of Heartless, slicing at each one she came across with an exhilarated grin on her face. _This_ , the rush of battle, was one of the things she loved the most about her job. The silver haired girl ran until the ground suddenly shook and she stumbled back only to watch as an enormous black hand wrapped its fingers around the edge of the cliff. Cobblestone crumbled underneath its force, making way for a Darkside to stand up tall before the duo. Mili did not hesitate in face of the giant.

"You want a piece of me?! Then come on!" she cried, running forward. She struck the monster's side before she jumped back and casting Blizzara. Frozen shards attacked the Darkside and Mili used the distraction to dig out a charm. The image was of a dark paw with a beige scar running along it. "Come on, Kovu!" In a flash of light, the dark colored lion appeared and ran towards the Heartless. Kovu sliced and bit the Darkside until he felt that his time was up. With one last lunge to tear away at the monster's arm, he landed in a crouch and shot a longing glance at her. Just as he came, he went in a flash, leaving Mili to fight the Darkside on her own. "Way to go, buddy!" she grinned as she put the charm away and attacked again, slicing at the Dark Side's arm.

Feeling too confident, Mili left herself open for the Heartless to claw at her side. Its massive hand slammed into her and the sword-sized nails dug into her flesh. The silver haired girl went flying before she hit the ground. She felt all the air rush out of her as she vaguely heard the clang of her charms hitting the ground. Opening her hazel eyes, Mili felt lightheaded and flushed. All she could do was watch her foe raise its great palm high above her.

 _Lili...Lea...I'm sorry._ Mili thought. Her eyes closed and she prepared for the inevitable strike to come.

Suddenly, Mili heard the Heartless cry out and her eyes opened to see a person standing in front of her. The person was a slim girl with strong muscles in her arms and legs, waist length green hair that was a braid at her shoulder blades down with a lily tucked behind her left ear, holding her bangs back. She wore a long sleeved dark green shirt with silver lining underneath a black leather jacket. A dark green cowl covered the lower part of her face, from her nose down. Her skin was pale and her eyes were a familiar hazel, almost gold, color. Mili would know her anywhere.

"Li...li…" She mumbled, not fully in tune with her senses.

"I can't leave you alone for five minutes, can I?" The green-haired girl asked as she tightened her grip on her own Keyblade. The hilt was wrapped in silver bandages, leaving a diamond pattern. The guard was blue and circular in segments with bulges on the ends that met at the top and bottom of the hilt. The blade was like a slightly jagged katana similar to a lightning bolt with a thin triangular slit on the first segment from the bottom of the blade. The teeth were a thicker bolt segment that left a small slit on the tip of the blade.

Snapping back to her senses, Mili whispered a quick Cura spell to close her wound and stop the bleeding. She still felt great pain, not knowing advanced healing spells, but she was able to lift herself with her own Keyblade as Lili handed her the fallen charms.

"I guess not." Mili answered as she stood up. "You ready?"

"When aren't I?" Lili questioned, raising an eyebrow and Mili just knew that under her cowl, the green-haired girl was smiling.

"Let's do this!" Mili grinned and Lili seemed to disappear as she ran forward and struck the Darkside repeatedly. Once her sister returned to her side, Mili used her second charm, an image of an alien pod with a lightning bolt proudly presented on its surface. "Sparky, go!" A small yellow creature with wide dark eyes, a bulbous nose, and long antennae shot out of the charm with a trail of electricity behind it. It wrapped around the Heartless, shocking it every time it came into contact. Lili joined the yellow alien and struck at the Darkside's neck before landing on the other side. Sparky disappeared in a flash of light, leaving to concentrated sisters and a teetering Heartless. Together, the girls leapt into the air and beheaded the dark monster. Landing in a crouch, Lili more elegantly than her sister due to the wound, they waited for the Heartless to fade away before approaching each other.

"Geez, did you two _have_ to leave me out of all the fun?" The two sisters turned to see Lea approaching them lazily. "I got the rest, in case you were wondering. And you're lucky your sister was here, shorty, or you'd be dead meat by now."

"Don't call me shorty!" Mili snarled as she launched forward and began to punch Lea mercilessly until Lili grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"As amusing as this is, we don't have time for it, Bahamut." Lili stated. "As I understand it, Master Aqua and Master Riku ordered the two of you back home, correct?"

"What's the rush, Lil?" Lea questioned, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. "I was hoping to enjoy some of my home world's food before heading off."

"Master Aqua and Master Riku requested I return as quickly as possible once my mission was complete. I was told you had the same orders." Lili answered.

"Why were you here, anyways?" the slightly shorter sister asked.

"My mission was to take out some Heartless in the district near Merlin's house per his request. I heard the commotion and found you here, Miliana."

She gave her sister a pointed look.

"Don't give me that look, Liliana," Mili muttered.

She felt a hand rub her silver locks and looked up to find Lea messing with her.

"Come on now, we should get going before it's bed time for you."

Grumbling, she countered, "Fine but if we want to get there ASAP, we need to leave now. You should get used to Lea's stink, sis."

She took the lead but made sure to look back at her master with a sly grin.

"That is my manly musk, how many times do I have to tell you before you-"

"Don't say it."

"-get it memorized?"

"Damn it, Lea! Why do you have that stupid catchphrase?!"

"It's not stupid! And what about you, huh? Your name is practically the same as your sister's!"

"It's not my fault! Besides, they _mean_ different things!"

"Like anybody cares about that! Who's dumb enough to look up what your names mean?! They're still the same!"

"They are not, you infuriating man!"

"Says the little girl trying to play hero!"

Under her cowl, Lili smirked as she watched Mili argue with her master. It was strange. Neither herself nor any of the others would even think of speaking back to any of the masters but here Mili was, intentionally aggravating the pyromaniac. Still, she could not deny that despite their constant bickering they were a good team and the best of friends she had ever seen with the exception of one of her masters and the legend himself. It was times like this where comrades could play with one another and fight alongside each other for a common goal that gave her confidence in her masters and friends more than anything else.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed the prologue, even if this is the second time you've read it, and please leave a review! Again, the guidelines for OCs are available on my profile and, even if you submitted an OC before, please fill out the entire form and PM it to me. Thank you, and I await your OCs patiently.**

 **Later!**


	2. Chapter 2:Warnings

**Hello everyone! I have finally returned to post the next chapter of this story. I haven't been posting it because I was waiting for OCs and because I still don't have a laptop. But I think I have an idea of where this story is going, especially since I now understand the background of the twins better. Eventually, they will get their own prequel that details how I've changed the story of their world. Confused? You should be, until we get to the reveal of who the twins are.**

 **Anyway, thanks to Jay Hayden (I hope you enjoy this chapter, considering who I bring in!), Guest (Ha ha! I love your review!), sailorsenshi13 (Nope. Mili's summons are set in stone and will eventually all be revealed. Right now, she only has those two. She will learn more as the story goes on.), jackthehedgehog (Katon is fine, don't worry. The forces of darkness are being led by a couple OCs that Katon and I made a while back. I'm excited to finally reveal them to you all!), everyone else who reviewed "nice nice!", all 4 followers and 2 favorites along with all 108 readers!**

 **This chapter has less action in order to introduce the characters more as well as give you an update on where our original cast, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Terra, Aqua, Ven and the others, are. Only the ones shown and mentioned in the actual chapter have any major relevance, though the others may pop up at some point.**

 **There will also be more OCs created by me introduced in here, which will connect to the twins' past. But they won't be here for a while.**

 **There will also be references to KH2.8, I loved it by the way! The graphics and story and everything is just beautiful! And I loved Ray of Hope, I'm listening to it as I write this chapter heh. Ray of Hope will actually be the theme of the twins in this story, cause I feel it fits them together. And when we eventually get KH3, I will most likely come back and change any small possible references I made to it.**

 **This does not connect to my The Light That Shines series so no Shaylee, which is important.**

 **Also, since this story is all me now, the writing will be different from the previous chapter because it is now in only my style and not including Katon's.**

 **I think that's it…**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Warnings**

 **Location: Land of Departure Gate Security Room**

Ryo bit his lip as his eyes darted from the sky to the video feed that was connected to the gate. It was his first time being on gate duty since he had arrived at the Land of Departure, a scarce six months ago, beside Master Riku.

Everyone had told him guard duty was easy since nobody ever came to the Land of Departure and if they did then it was probably an apprentice and he would recognize them and the ship.

The Gummi Ship approaching, however, was one he had never seen before.

 _Calm down, you can do this._ Ryo thought.

Then the transmission connector lit up.

 _Okay…maybe I can't do this._

Either way, Ryo answered the transmission and a red haired man appeared on the screen.

"Hey! Lea here, mind letting me in?" The man, Lea, requested.

"Um, I don't have you scheduled for entry." Ryo said quietly.

"Yeah, this is a little last minute but, come on, it's me." Lea grinned.

"Um, I, uh, I'm sorry but I don't know who you are, sir." Ryo answered.

"What!?" Lea cried, shocked.

"Ugh, let me do it!" A female voice cried and Lea was pushed off the screen. In his place was a girl with silver hair and hazel eyes. She looked familiar but Ryo wasn't sure who she was. "Hey, it's me, Mili, let us in please?" She gave him puppy dog eyes.

Ryo instantly turned red and couldn't get a single word out.

"Great job, Mili! Now we'll never get in!" Lea cried.

"Not if you keep interrupting!" Mili turned to snarl at the man.

"Ryo."

Ryo's eyes snapped to the screen as he saw a green haired girl step onto the screen. She lowered the cowl that covered the bottom half of her face, revealing a face that was identical to the silver haired girl's that was currently smiling gently.

"Lili!" Ryo cried, surprised.

"I'll explain everything when we land, can you let us in please?" Lili asked.

Nodding, Ryo hit the necessary keys and opened the gate.

"Finally!" Lea cried.

"How'd you do that, sis?" Mili asked.

The transmission turned off then and Ryo ran down to meet the three.

* * *

 **Location: Landing Pad**

"I am so sorry, Lili! I didn't know you were coming back with these two!" Ryo apologized as he reached his fellow apprentice.

"It's okay, Ryo, you didn't know." Lili smiled. "This is my sister, Mili, and her master, Lea."

"Nice to meet you." Ryo smiled slightly.

"You too." Mili smiled.

"I didn't think I'd meet Lili's little sister so soon." Ryo said offhandedly.

Lili's eyes widened as Mili's narrowed dangerously.

"What…did...you…say…?" The summoner asked.

"Mili's the older sister, kid." Lea explained at Ryo's confused gaze. Instantly, the younger apprentice turned red and began to stammer.

"It's okay, we'll just be going to meet the masters now." Lili said as she began to pull Mili away. Only when they were a safe distance away, did Mili explode.

Her screams echoed in Ryo's ears.

"Anyway, the name's Lea, got it memorized?" Lea grinned.

"Uh, um, yeah." Ryo nodded, unsure.

"Come on, Master Lea!" Lili called.

Grinning, the red haired man walked away, leaving Ryo to groan over his mistakes.

* * *

 **Location: Land of Departure Castle Throne Room**

Once Mili was calm, the three made their way into the throne room. Once they reached the base of the stairs that led to the three thrones, Lili bent down in respect while Mili and Lea stood in attention.

Sitting on the center throne was Master Aqua.

To her right was Master Ven.

To her left was Master Riku.

"Welcome back, Lea, Mili and Lili." Aqua smiled. Lea and Mili relaxed upon hearing the undisputed Head Master's voice. Lili stayed crouched down.

"How was your mission?" Ven asked.

"Complete success." Mili grinned.

"Besides the part where she was almost killed by a Darkside." Lea quipped.

"Damnit Lea! You weren't supposed to tell them that!" Mili cried.

"What happened, Lili?" Riku cut in as he spoke to his apprentice.

"My sister became too confident, Master Riku. I arrived in time to save her before the Darkside could kill her." Lili answered.

"Mili, we have told you about this." Aqua sighed, sounding like an exasperated mother. "If you cannot control your impulses, you will not be a Master one day."

"I know…and I'm working on it, I promise!" Mili said.

"Yeah, she ran off later then she did the last time we were here." Lea offered. Mili looked at her Master in title only in shock before she returned to looking at the Masters in front of her.

"I think we can trust Lea to keep her under control." Ven said, a slight smile on his face.

"Of course you can!" Lea grinned.

"And your mission, Lili?" Riku asked.

"A success." Lili answered, her bowed head and cowl hiding her smile. She was proud of herself for this mission, since nobody had needed to come with her.

"And no incidents?" Riku asked.

"Besides my sister's, none Master." Lili answered. She clearly heard Riku sigh in relief and knew Aqua and Ven had relaxed in their thrones more. They were probably as relieved as she was.

She felt her older sister's gaze on her but did not acknowledge it.

"Now, onto the next business." Aqua said, "Mili, Lili, the two of you will be going on this next mission with Ryo and Marta."

"What about me?" Lea demanded, crossing his arms in irritation as his eyebrows furrowed.

"We need you to do some solo work for us while they're on this mission." Ven answered. The look in his eyes made Lea straighten up and actually look like the Master that had assisted the legend all those years ago.

Mili blinked as she looked at her Master in name only, who now _actually looked like a Master_.

"When do we depart, Masters?" Lili asked.

"Tomorrow morning, as Marta is out on another mission with Jack until evening." Aqua answered.

"Then Lili and I get to spend the day together?" Mili asked with thinly veiled excitement.

"After she trains with me, yes." Riku smiled. "Lili?"

"Yes, Master." Lili stood up and followed Riku out of the throne room.

* * *

 **Location: Training Ground**

Riku held Way to Dawn in his hand while Lili stood with nothing in her hands, her cowl discarded along with her leather jacket.

"Ready?" Riku asked.

Lili only nodded.

"Now!" Riku cried as he charged the ninja.

Quickly, Lili ducked away and held up her hand.

A small shuriken appeared in her hand in a black flash and she instantly threw it at Riku.

The shuriken landed perfectly in Riku's right shoulder, throwing him off balance and giving Lili time to prepare.

Riku tore the shuriken out of his shoulder and charged the ninja again.

Instead of ducking away, Lili met Riku head on, a kunai having appeared in a black flash in her hand. The kunai and Way to Dawn clashed, causing sparks for a second before they locked.

Riku was stronger than Lili, forcing her to either fall back or escape. She chose to escape, a smoke bomb appearing in her hand in a black flash.

Riku looked around, trying to find the ninja when he felt ice spikes heading towards him. Quickly, he turned and casted Fira, melting all but a few of the icicles that scratched his arms.

His eye caught Lili's and he ran faster than she had seen him move and was about to strike.

In a split second, a katana appeared in Lili's hand, though Riku could now see she was visibly shaking and paler than normal.

 _Don't…let go…_ Lili thought as she tried to push. She failed as she cried out in pain and fell to the ground, the katana vanishing and Riku stepping back in order to not hurt her.

Instantly, Riku's arms were around Lili, holding her up so he could cast Cura as well as something else that Mili couldn't tell from where she was standing.

Once she and Lea had been let out, the summoner had gone to her room to change into a long sleeved white and teal striped shirt, tight blue jeans and black and white sneakers with green laces before she reached the training ground to see how her younger sister was doing.

Before she could run out to help her sister, a hand held her back.

"She's okay, don't worry." Ven said gently.

"She just collapsed!" Mili protested, "And those were just abilities she used back home!"

"True, but her abilities don't work outside your world like they do in it, if that makes sense." Ven explained.

"Like my summons…" Mili whispered.

"Exactly. That's why Riku's helping train her." Ven answered.

"But he doesn't have Ninjutsu or Ninja Arts like Lili does!" Mili protested.

"There's another reason he's the one helping Lili, one that Terra pointed out when he brought you two here." Ven explained.

"What?" Mili asked.

"I can't tell you. Just remember that this is for Lili's own good." Ven said, serious.

"Okay." Mili nodded and turned to watch as Lili and Riku made their way to the two of them.

"You wanna go into town, Mili?" Lili asked, cutting off whatever her sister or the Master could have said.

"Sure." Mili smiled. Lili nodded and made her way to her room to change, Mili behind her.

"How's she doing?" Ven asked Riku quietly.

"She's doing better but…" Riku trailed off.

"Still a reason to worry about her, right?" Ven finished.

"Yeah." Riku nodded. "Are you sure sending her on this mission is a good idea?"

"She needs the independence, Riku. We can't keep her locked up here anymore than your parents could have kept you locked up on the Islands." Ven explained.

"I know…I just…hope she doesn't follow the path I did." Riku sighed.

"We all do." Ven stated as he looked from Riku to the tower where Lili's room was, his eyes completely serious and full of concern.

* * *

 **Location: Town**

In the three years that the twins had been under the Masters' training, and even in the four years before they were found after the war against Xehanort ended, the Land of Departure had grown a considerable sized town where those that wished it could live under the protection of the Masters and assist the apprentices.

As she walked through the town beside her sister, now wearing a short sleeved light blue shirt with a silver shuriken pattern, dark blue jeans, gray sneakers with pale blue laces with her hair in a bun held up by a pair of chopsticks and having her lily threaded through it along with a light blue cowl, Lili admired how much the town had grown in only seven short years since Xehanort's defeat.

"Reminds you of how quickly Mom's home got back on its feet, huh?" Mili asked as she watched her sister's expressions, as she had her cowl lowered. There was not a single person in town she didn't trust, after all.

"You have no idea." Lili agreed as they walked.

"So, what have you been doing while I've been training with Mr. 'Got-It-Memorized?'?" Mili asked.

"Just training with Master Riku, getting to know the new apprentices like Ryo." Lili answered.

"How long has he been here anyway?" Mili asked as she put her hands behind her head as she walked.

"Only six months. Master Riku found him when he was visiting his home world." Lili answered. Mili froze.

"Shut up, he's from _Destiny Islands_!?" She cried.

"Yep. And he's only a year our junior." Lili added.

" ** _WHAT?!_** And he thinks _I'm_ the younger twin?!" Mili cried.

"How is that relevant?" Lili asked, sounding exasperated.

" _Because_! **_I'm older than you!_** "

"By a minute."

" ** _I'm still older!_** "

"Alright, calm down, Bahamut!" Lili was giggling now. Seeing her sister had tricked her, Mili growled and punched her sister, causing her to laugh more.

"I hate you sometimes, Leviathan!" Mili quipped jokingly.

"Love you too." Lili grinned.

* * *

The twins visited much of the town, from the bakery to the library, before they ended up sitting on the fountain that was in the center, simply watching the sky.

"You found anything about finding home?" Mili asked suddenly.

"No." Lili sighed as she gazed into the fountain water.

"Oh, come on! Don't give up now!" Mili cried.

"But Mili…it's been _nine years_." Lili stated.

"Yeah, and Terra, Aqua and Ven were lost in the darkness for longer than that! Things survive in the darkness, Lili, we just have to not give up!"

"Mili…"

"No giving up! We'll find our world someday; we just need to keep looking! No matter what, we'll find it!"

"But Mili-"

"Come on, it's dinner time. You'll feel better once you eat."

With that, the summoner dragged the ninja back to the castle where they ate dinner with the Masters and apprentices on the Land of Departure.

* * *

 **Location: Mili's Bedroom**

Mili, wearing her pajamas that consisted of a sky blue tank top and dark blue pajama pants with yellow swirls, stared up at the ceiling of her room, her fingers tracing all sorts of shapes on her blankets.

"We'll find you, I promise."

* * *

 **Location: Lili's Bedroom**

That night, wearing her pajamas that consisted of a light violet tank top with a gray phoenix on the back, dark violet pajama pants and a gray cowl with her hair down entirely, Lili watched the stars from her window.

"Mili…what if the only way to get our world back…is a way I refuse to go…?"

* * *

 **Location: Throne Room**

"So what's going on?" Lea asked.

"Master Yen Sid and Mickey have written to us recently about a series of incidents." Aqua explained.

"Incidents?" Lea questioned, raising an eyebrow as he crossed his arms.

"Materia has been disappearing from different worlds without a trace, at least that's what the rumors suggest." Ven explained.

"We need you to go undercover and see if there's any truth to these rumors." Riku finished.

"And if there is…?" Lea asked, entirely serious.

"We'll decide when we get to that point." Aqua stated resolutely.

"Got it." Lea nodded.

* * *

 **There's the chapter! I hope I wrote the characters correctly, let me know if I didn't. I also dropped hints of the backstories of Lili, Mili and Ryo. I'm curious to see if you guys will figure out just where Lili and Mili come from, if you do then I'll give you a free spoiler. Just for fun!**

 **Ryo belongs to Jay Hayden.**

 **Marta belongs to Meyneth24.**

 **The ideas for the plot belong to Katon Dragonfly/Legacy918.**

 **And yes, this is supposed to be a while after KH3 in order for it all to make sense. I think seven years is good enough, so the twins are two years younger than Sora, who would be 23 in this story. I don't know if he'll show up yet, we'll see.**

 **Leave a review to let me know what you think!**

 **May your heart be your guiding key!**


	3. Chapter 3:An Unusual World

**EDIT: This chapter has been edited due to some critics I requested from Rasa the North Wind. Some dialogue has changed and two scenes were added. I hope it all flows better now!**

 **Hey everyone! Great to see all of you again! I'm excited cause I got a new idea for this chapter that I am using. Of course, it's not in the original plan Katon and I had but I feel I can write this one better. For the record, the original world that was supposed to be here was Cinderella 2 Castle of Dreams.**

 **Anyways, thanks to EmeraldWings1992 (I'm glad you enjoyed and sent me those OCs!), sailorsenshi13 (Thanks!), Rasa the North Wind (Good to hear from you again and to see you're gonna keep up with this story! I can't wait for your reviews!), jackthehedgehog (Oh, I can't tell you any of that! That'd ruin the surprise!) Antex-the Legendary Zoroark (You'll see** **. And the chapter's will get longer, as evidenced by this one.) and Jay Hayden (Oh I'm not done with Ryo yet. Luckily, this mission has two girls he's used to and he just needs to worry about Mili, heh.) for reviewing, all 8 followers, 5 favorites and 242 readers!**

 **Okay, one last thing before we get down to business: Union X and Ven and I'm still freaking out even if I don't play it and now Ven is biologically the oldest character and he's like 10 at least in Union X and it just breaks my heart cause fighting's all he's ever known and somebody needs to protect that baby! Why does Xehanort do this to him?!**

 **Also, this chapter will jump POVs to the character I think fits best but you will eventually know everything. And each world will take a few chapters, unlike my other KH stories where each world is a chapter. Sorry, but I'm going through whole movies here so…yeah. This won't introduce the main plot, it's just more insight and ground laying.**

 **And so, everyone knows, I am no longer accepting OCs!**

 **And we're off!**

* * *

 **Location: Landing Pad**

Riku walked over with the other Masters to wish the four apprentices luck on their mission.

For Marta, going on a mission wasn't new, as she had been there for a little over a year now and had gone on several. For the other three, however, this was new in varying degrees.

As Aqua and Ven approached Marta and Ryo respectively, Riku walked over to Lili with a small smile.

The look in her eyes, however, made his smile fall.

"You okay?" Riku asked, concerned. Despite having only met the green haired ninja three years ago, Riku thought of her as a younger sister, similar to how he thinks of Kairi. He wants to protect both of them instead of letting them fight by themselves, though he knew there would be a time when they would have to fight and he trusted them to be alright.

The look in Lili's eyes, however, showed less confidence that only he, and maybe Ven and possibly, very possibly, Terra, would be able to spot. The rest of her face was blank, hiding the nerves he knew she felt.

"I…don't know if I can do this…" Lili whispered softly.

"What?" Riku asked, shock and fear racing through his veins. "Is it-"

"No, not _that_." Lili shook her head. "But…what if it _does_ happen and…and we can't get back in time? What if I can't…can't control it or…make it back…to you and Ven or find…Terra or-"

"Stop right there, Liliana." Riku said forcefully as he grabbed Lili's shoulders and forced her to meet his eyes.

Over the seven years since the war against Xehanort had ended, Riku had grown to be around the same height as Lea and Terra. His hair was the slightest bit longer so it rested near his shoulders, a happy medium between his days on the island and his days in the darkness, in Sora's words.

Like the rest of the Masters at the Land of Departure, Riku wore a white robe with the silver Mark of Mastery emblazoned on his back and armor on his shoulders. Riku's armor was a mix of gold, silver and black, though he rarely used it. His outfit was similar to what he had worn when they all fought against Xehanort, as were the rest of the Masters on the Land.

As he stared into Lili's eyes, however, Riku never felt more responsible for her than he had in that moment, not since the moment she arrived on the Land and he knew why the twins were brought there in the first place and why Lili was not allowed to leave. At 18, she wasn't ready.

It seemed now, at 21, she still didn't feel ready.

"You have trained every single daysince you and Mili were brought here three years ago. You have gone through every exercise I have given you. _You are ready_." Riku stated, his aqua eyes fierce as they stared into the hazel ones of Lili.

"But-" She started to protest. Riku held a hand up to cut her off.

" _If_ , and only _if_ , something happens on this mission, you can use this to get back here." He said as he took out a small white box. Inside was a charm, shaped like a star, that would instantly take the entire party back to the Land, regardless if there were more allies nearby. If they were an ally, the charm would bring them back to the Land as soon as it was activated.

Lili took the box delicately, as if she was holding a treasured object. Which, to her, it was.

"Thank you…Master Riku." She whispered softly, her voice one of awe.

"Come on, you know it's just Riku." Riku brushed off, his strong presence fading as he put his hand on the back of his neck.

"Of course. Thank you, Riku." Lili smiled with a slight bow of respect, something she refused to stop no matter how many times he asked.

"Your welcome. Now go have a good mission, okay?" Riku smiled, standing up a bit straighter, a bit taller.

"Okay." Lili smiled before she bowed again and made her way to the Gummi Ship, where Mili, Ryo and Marta were also making their way towards, having finished their own discussions with their respective masters.

* * *

Aqua watched the four leave with a confident smile.

Since the war had ended, Aqua's blue hair had grown to reach her shoulder blades, the spikes in it became softer and framed her face gently, though some still hung in her eyes.

Like the other Masters, she wore the white robe with the Mark of Mastery on the back and her armor, the same as the one Eraqus gave her when she was an apprentice.

Ven was similar to both of them, though his spikes hadn't changed. Whenever Lea visited the Master Trio, as he named them, he always teased the blonde on how little he changed.

Lea, at Aqua's insistence (in his words: threats), was wearing his own Mark of Mastery robe, which led to Mili teasing him for a good five minutes.

"Do you think they're ready?" Lea asked, sounding the slightest bit concerned to Aqua's ears.

"Lea, are you actually worried about _Mili_?" Ven gasped dramatically. It was a well-known fact that Lea and Mili argued like cats and dogs no matter what kind of mission they were on.

"Hey, at the end of the day, she's still my apprentice. Besides, she's never gone anywhere without me before." Lea said as he met Ven's eyes, his own jade ones unusually serious.

Seeing the look in his eyes, Ven quickly became serious and nodded in understanding.

"I'm sure Mili will be alright. I'm more concerned about Lili than anyone else." Aqua admitted.

"She'll be fine." Riku stated confidently. "We should be more worried about Lea's mission than anything else."

"Right." Ven nodded. "You ready, Lea?"

"I'm always ready. Got it memorized?" Lea grinned. Unlike Mili, Riku and Ven chuckled at Lea's familiar catchphrase. It brought back some good memories.

"Remember you can always contact us if you need help-" Aqua started to say but Lea cut her off with a wave of his hand and an easy grin as he removed his robe and tossed it to the ground.

"No offense, Aqua, but you guys're better off here, especially with that new girl Ven told me he found a little while back." Lea stated as he winked at Aqua.

"Alexina isn't helpless-" Aqua started to protest.

"But she's still new." Ven cut in, "Meaning she'll need her Master with her, just like Rickson needed Riku when Lili first went off on her own five months ago."

"Lea can take care of himself, Aqua. You know that." Riku reassured, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"But…" Aqua whispered as she looked down, her hair hiding her eyes. "But what if-"

"Don't worry, I'm not Terra." Lea stated, his voice serious. Aqua's head shot up so fast, she was surprised her neck didn't crack. Her wide sapphire blue eyes met Lea's serious jade green ones. "I'm not gonna do anything besides my mission and I'm going to come back with a full report."

"He just won't kiss you on the cheek when he gets back." Ven teased causing Riku to hit him over the head.

"You're spending too much time with Lea, Roxas and Sora, Ven." Riku stated, though his smile said otherwise.

Aqua started laughing, which was Riku's goal as evidenced by his widened smile.

"Alright! I'm off! I should be back a little after the squirts." Lea stated as he started walking towards his own Gummi Ship, taking off his orange, red and gold armor as he went. "I'll contact Ven if I need any help. And, try not to worry. Got it memorized?"

"Got it!" Ven yelled at the redhead, smiling widely as he waved. Riku and Aqua joined in the waving, smiling at Ven's enthusiasm. It was times like these when they learned to appreciate Ven's ability to smile no matter what.

Lea gave one last wave as he entered the ship and took off minutes later.

"Good luck." Ven whispered so quietly, Aqua thought she imagined it.

What she didn't know was the thoughts wildly racing through his mind.

* * *

 **Location: Gummi Ship**

"So, any idea where we're going?" Mili asked as she sat beside her sister. Ryo sat across from them, shyly avoiding Mili's gaze.

Ryo was a muscular twenty year old young man with a wild mane of spiked hair, each one resembling a sharp, black pike and indigo colored eyes. He wore black chain mail armor, a black chest plate, black gauntlets, gray gloves and deep brown boots along with his silver skull ring.

"M-Master Ven said, um, this world is, uh, different." Ryo answered, staring determinedly at the table.

"Really? What do you think he meant?" Mili asked, curious.

"Uh, um, ah…" Ryo started to blush as he was put on the spot.

"It's called Montressor." A dreamy voice suddenly said.

Turning, Mili met the eyes of the final member of their team, Marta.

Marta was a slightly tan seventeen year old young girl with shoulder blade length brown hair that had blonde streaks resembling sunlight in it and gray blue eyes. She wore a tan short sleeved shirt, black pants, black combat boots and fingerless gloves. Around her neck, she had a pair of goggles.

"Have you been there before, Marta?" Mili asked as Marta sat down next to Ryo and across from Lili. Of course, as soon as she sat down, Ryo's head whipped the other way as he began to play with his fingers.

"No." Marta answered softly as her head tilted to the side, reminding Mili that despite the fact that she was walking and talking the monk was very much still asleep.

"What about you, Lili?" Mili asked, turning to her sister.

"No. I've only been to Radiant Garden, Twilight Town and Destiny Islands." The ninja answered, her voice steady even as she ran her fingers over a silver cord that rested around her neck and was tucked into her shirt. "Marta and you are the only ones who have gotten close to this world."

"What?! But how is that possible? You've been training just as long as I have!" Mili cried, shocked.

Lili didn't answer.

"Master Riku doesn't let her out much." Marta spoke up as she began to blink rapidly, a sign that she was waking up on her own. "He and the rest of the Masters are protective of Lili. I think it's cute!" As she spoke, a huge grin spread across Marta's face. "Maybe one of them has feelings for her!"

"I doubt it. Besides, you know the rules." Lili cut her off before she could go any further.

"Still." Marta shook her head, not letting Lili's statement bother her.

"So, uh, we're going to a world, um, that none of, ah, us have been to b-before?" Ryo finally spoke up, his face less pink then it was previously.

"That's right." Lili nodded as her fingers went from the silver cord to her lowered cowl. "Master Riku said our mission is to find the source of Heartless and take it out."

"Right!" Marta and Mili grinned in unison before Marta slumped slightly and fell back asleep.

"Does…this happen often?" Mili asked, having not spent a lot of time with Marta since she had arrived a year and a half ago.

"All the time." Lili and Ryo answered in unison.

"Great…" Mili sighed before she started giggling and teasing the two about answering in unison, which led to Lili rolling her eyes and Ryo blushing and avoiding anyone's gaze all over again.

* * *

 **Location: Montressor**

"We're here." Lili spoke up as the Gummi Ship began to descend.

"Sweet! I can't wait to see what this world's like." Mili grinned as she followed her sister, Marta and Ryo behind them.

When the Gummi Ship's doors opened, the party found themselves in between some trees.

"Why did we land here?" Marta asked as she looked around.

"The Gummi Ship automatically lands where it's least likely to be seen as odd." Mili answered. "Though we usually don't land in areas with very few trees."

"I suppose there isn't that much room to hide on this world." Lili surmised as she lifted her cowl and covered her face.

"Sh-should we, uh, get, um, going?" Ryo asked nervously, his expression timid.

"Sure! Come on, guys, let's go!" Mili grinned as she excitedly led the way out of the sparse trees and towards a town they saw in the distance.

* * *

 **Location: Town**

Once the party reached the town, that was when the awe came.

Everywhere Mili looked, she saw different…creatures was the only word she could describe them as. Very few citizens of this world looked even remotely human and though it was strange, it _fascinated_ her.

Ryo seemed to be the most in awe, even as he somehow managed to avoid running into anyone, as he gazed at all the small buildings in the town as well as all the families.

Mili couldn't help but notice, however, how tense Lili was. She stepped closer to her sister so she could whisper in her ear.

"You look like you're planning to pickpocket again." The silver haired summoner teased.

"I don't trust this world, Miliana." Lili answered, her voice deadly serious as her eyes darted around. Though she'd never admit it aloud, Mili knew her younger sister was in awe of being on a new world. Her paranoia, however, was causing her to not enjoy her first taste of freedom in three years.

"Come on, Lil, relax. You look like you're gonna send a shuriken flying at the first person that talks to us." Mili rolled her eyes. "Missions are about stealth as much as being alert so dial back the ninja alertness and focus on your stealth in blending in." Mili then realized what she just said and hurriedly added, "Though don't go using ninjutsu to change your appearance like the others do!"

"I won't. I know I can't do that here." Lili rolled her eyes before she started paying attention again, to her sister's sigh of disappointment.

Montressor was obviously a mining world, if the continuing shades of brown in the landscape and the architecture was anything to go by, in Lili's opinion. And it obviously wasn't inhabited by too many humans.

Suddenly, Marta bumped into someone and cried out.

"Marta!" Ryo cried in concern as he ran over to the brunette monk.

"Oops, sorry." Marta apologized as she rubbed her eyes while Ryo helped her up. She offered her hand to the dog like creature she knocked over.

"That's quite alright, mischief-misc-Ms." The dog stumbled over his words. "You must be new to Montressor. I'm Dr. Delbert Doppler, astrophysicist."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Marta and this is my friend, Ryo." Marta smiled as she pulled Delbert up. As she released his…paw, she waved to the twins. "Those are my other friends, Lili and Mili."

"Hello, pleasure to meet you all." Delbert nodded as he looked at the young women and young man before him.

They were an odd bunch in his eyes.

"Do you have someplace to stay while you're here?" Delbert asked.

"Sadly, no. Do you recommend anywhere?" Mili asked.

"The best place to stay on planet is the Benbow Inn, Mili, or was it Lili?" Delbert ended up asking in confusion as he looked at the silver haired girl and the green haired one standing next to her.

Before Mili could loudly proclaim her name, Lili grabbed her wrist tightly and spoke up.

"I am Lili and this is my twin sister, Mili, doctor." She answered. Before she could say anything else, however, Ryo spoke up.

"You know of, uh, other worl-" Before he could even finish speaking, Lili roughly smacked him over the head.

"Could you tell us where we could find the Benbow Inn?" Marta asked with a soft smile.

"Sure, just follow me. I'm heading over there anyways to talk to Sarah, the owner." Delbert smiled, seeming to either miss or ignore the slip Ryo made.

"Thank you." Marta yawned.

* * *

 **Location: Benbow Inn**

Once they reached the inn, Delbert waved Sarah over to them.

"Ah, Sarah, I've found you some new customers!" He grinned.

"Why, hello. Welcome to Montressor, I'm Sarah Hawkins, owner of the Benbow Inn." Sarah smiled, a tired yet friendly, and practiced, smile.

"Wait a minute, you're-" Mili started to say before she was quickly hit over the head by Lili. The message given was clear.

Do not stand out.

"I'm sorry?" Sarah asked as the summoner abruptly cut herself off.

"She was going to say you're pretty." Lili cut in quickly, yet it felt natural to those who didn't know her well, as she looked around the inn.

It was a quaint little inn, in her opinion. Probably an ideal place for picking up gossip.

"Can we, uh, have, um, some rooms please?" Ryo requested.

"Of course. I have two rooms available, one for you and one for your friends. Will that work?" Sarah asked.

"Of, ah, course." The knight nodded with a shy smile.

"Excellent." Sarah smiled as she quickly made some notes and handed Ryo and Marta a key each. "Welcome to Montressor."

* * *

They spent the next few days in the inn, listening for rumors of any strange activity that could be related to the Heartless.

Though, more than once, Mili caught her sister either playing with a white box or fingering the silver cord around her neck. Finally, she decided to speak up.

"Hey, what's that around your neck?" The summoner asked. The twins sat at one table while Ryo and Marta sat at another, listening for anything to help them on their mission.

"Oh, nothing." Lili answered, her cowl hiding the twitching of her lip into a frown.

" _That's_ not nothing, considering you didn't have that until the day we left." Mili stated. "Who gave it to you?"

"No one. Now leave it alone, Mili." Lili stated, her voice becoming cold.

"Ugh! You're just like Mom when she wants Dad to leave her alone!" Mili groaned, her head falling back onto her chair.

"Then you're Dad in this situation?" Lili asked, her lips now twitching up into a smile.

"Oh shush! Someone has to be!" Mili grinned brightly.

* * *

Meanwhile, at their own table, Ryo and Marta looked up suddenly as the door opened and a robot policeman called,

"Mrs. Hawkins."

"Jim!" Sarah gasped as she dropped the plates.

Sure enough, standing in between two robots and looking _very_ unhappy, was none other than Jim, Sarah's fifteen year old son that the party had heard much about but rarely seen outside of him cleaning tables. He seemed intrigued by the world travelers but never made a move to speak with them.

Seeing him now, in between two robot police members, Ryo could see why.

"Ooh." Delbert winced as he turned away. "Wrong turn."

"Okay, thanks for the life, guys." Jim smiled as he tried to get out of the policeman's grasp only for one to grab his shoulder again.

"Not so fast!" The one who grabbed Jim ordered.

"We apprehended your son operating a solar vehicle in a restricted area." The other policeman said.

"Moving violation 904 Section 15 Paragraph, uh…" The one holding Jim's shoulder started.

"6." Jim finished, causing Ryo to wince. Obviously, this happened often enough that the kid memorized the numbers of his violation.

"Thank you." The officer holding Jim's shoulder said.

"Don't mention it." Jim said flatly.

"Jim!" Sarah scolded.

"This, uh, looks bad." Ryo whispered to Marta as she stared at them. Mentally, Ryo thanked whatever God was up there that she was still asleep.

"As you are aware, ma'am, this constitutes a violation of his probation." The other officer stated.

"Yes, yes, no, I understand." Sarah said as she approached the robots holding her son. "Um, but, gh, could we…just-" As she continued to stutter, Delbert cleared his throat.

"Pardon me, officers. Um, if I might, uh, interject here." He said as he stood up and walked towards the robots. "I am the noted astrophysicist, Dr. Delbert Doppler. Perhaps you've heard of me?" The robots were silent. "No? Uh, I have a clipping."

As Delbert started to reach into his pocket, and Ryo prepared to move closer, the officer holding Jim's arm pointed at Delbert.

"Are you the boy's father?" It asked.

Delbert and Sarah instantly protested.

"He's just an old friend of the family." Sarah explained.

"Back off, sir!" The robots yelled as they got in Delbert's face, forcing him to lean back.

"Thank you, Delbert. I will take it from here." Sarah insisted.

"Well, Sarah, if you insist." Delbert agreed. As he started to walk away, he added, "Never let me do that again."

"Due to repeated violations of Statue 15C, we have impounded his vehicle." The officer that held Jim's arm continued. "Any more slipups will result in a one-way ticket to Juvenile Hall."

"Kiddie Hoosegow." The other added unnecessarily.

"The slammo." The first finished as they pushed Jim towards his mother.

"Thank you, officers." Sarah said as she pulled Jim away. "It won't happen again." Her voice contained a clear threat as Jim refused to meet her eyes.

"We see his type all the time, ma'am." The first officer said.

"Wrong choices." The second added.

"Dead enders." The first changed.

"Losers." The second finished as Jim looked at them with a glare.

"You take care now." The first said in a higher voice as its hat lifted up.

"Let's motor." The second stated and they rolled out of the inn.

"Geez, this world's police force is weird." Ryo commented to himself.

"All worlds are strange to newcomers." Marta said, causing Ryo to jump and blush, having forgotten she was there. "And it seems Jim isn't new to incidents like this."

Looking back at Jim and Sarah, as Sarah got back to work and Jim moodily went into the kitchen, Ryo found himself feeling wistful.

"He, uh, should be, um, grateful he still has, ah, his mom at least." He whispered.

"What do you mean?" Marta asked, looking a bit more awake as her eyes focused on Ryo.

"Nothing, never mind." Ryo shook his head as he stood up. "I'm gonna, uh, go to the roof, um, to see if there's, ah, anything."

* * *

 **Location: Roof**

When he got to the roof, Ryo was surprised to see Jim there, throwing rocks off of it.

"Hey." Ryo called as he made his way over, not looking Jim in the eye.

"What do you want?" Jim asked flatly.

"Nothing, just, uh, here to see, ah, the view." Ryo answered as he leaned against the chimney Jim sat against.

"Nothing much to see. I bet you've seen better planets than this." Jim stated.

"This is, um, the first planet I've been to, ah, actually." Ryo admitted as he tucked his hands into his pants pockets and watched the thundering sky.

"Really?" Jim asked, surprised. "You're _older_ than me."

"Yeah, uh, and I'm, um, training to be a…knight. My Master wouldn't let me leave until I was ready." Ryo explained, leaving the Keyblade wielder bit out.

"Still, it must be nice…" Jim sighed before he looked down as the two heard Delbert's voice.

"I really don't know how you manage it, Sarah." He said. "Trying to run a business while raising a felon like…felon-fellow…fellow like Jim." Ryo winced at the stuttered words.

"Managing it? I'm at the end of my rope." Sarah sighed. "Ever since his father left, well. Jim's just never recovered."

Jim looked down as he heard those words.

Ryo froze.

"Y-your-" He started to say but then Sarah spoke again.

"And you know how smart he is. He built his first solar surfer when he was eight! And yet he's…failing at school, he is _constantly_ in trouble and when I talk to him, he's like a stranger to me! I don't know, Delbert, I've tried everything-"

The boys' attention was diverted when a ship suddenly flew past them, crashed into the landing pad and had a fire on top.

Jim instantly slid off the roof and ran towards the ship, not waiting for Ryo who was right behind him.

"Hey, mister! Mister, you're alright in there, right?" Jim called as they reached the ship and he knocked on the window. Suddenly, a claw appeared on the window and the two jumped back just as it opened and a turtle-like alien fell out alongside a treasure chest. The turtle began to cough from inhaling smoke.

"What the-" Ryo whispered when the turtle grabbed Jim's shirt and got in his face.

"He's a-comin'." The turtle said, "Can you hear him? Those gears and gyros clickin' and whirrin' like the devil himself!" The turtle coughed, released Jim and began to make his way back to his ship.

 _Gears and gyros? That doesn't sound like a regular old Heartless._ Ryo thought. _Maybe it's the source?_

"Uh, hit your head there pretty hard, didn't ya?" Jim questioned as he looked at Ryo.

"He's after me chest." The turtle continued, as if Jim hadn't spoken. "That fiendish cyborg and his band of cutthroats!" As he spoke, the turtle picked up his chest and tried to walk. "But they'll have to pry it from old Billy Bones' cold, dead finger afore I-argh!" Suddenly, the turtle, Billy, dropped his chest and began to cough as he fell and clutched both the chest and his throat.

"We need to get him to the inn!" Ryo cried, knowing they needed Mili if this guy was gonna live. The seriousness of the situation pushed his shyness away, if only for now.

"Uh, come on, give me your arm." Jim said as he and Ryo helped get one of Billy's arms over each of their shoulders, Jim grabbing the chest to drag it along with them.

Together, the two boys struggled up the hill to the Benbow Inn with Billy and his chest in tow.

"Mom's gonna love this." Jim muttered sarcastically.

"I think she'd, ah, feel worse if we left him, um, to die." Ryo offered as it began to rain, soaking the three. Apparently, now his shyness was returning with a vengeance.

"Still." Jim stated as he shook his head.

* * *

 **Location: Benbow Inn**

Lili was playing with her silver cord when Delbert opened the door and Mili cried,

"Ryo!"

At the same instant, Sarah yelled,

"James Pleiades Hawkins!"

Instantly, Sarah, Lili, Mili and Marta surrounded the two boys and Billy as the boys put the turtle on the floor.

"Mom, he's hurt-bad!" Jim argued as Delbert shut the door.

"Mili!" Lili ordered and her sister nodded.

"Cura!" Mili cast and her hands began to glow green with healing magic.

"What the-?" Jim gasped.

"Mili has magic, she can help him." Lili answered as Mili casted the spell repeatedly but it wasn't helping much from the looks of it.

"Me chest." Billy said, reaching for the chest Ryo had carried up as he helped Jim support Billy.

"Sir, please, don't move." Mili said but the turtle ignored her as he reached for the chest Jim had slid towards him and began to enter the combination.

"He'll be comin' soon." Billy said as he reached in and pulled out a circular package. "Can't let him find this!" His voice was desperate.

"Come on, Cura, come on…" Mili muttered as she began to strain from casting the spell several times already.

"Who's coming?" Jim asked. Billy suddenly grabbed Jim's shirt and pulled him close, the movement startling Mili and causing her to stop the constant string of healing magic she had been casting.

"I…I can't…" She whispered, weak.

Billy whispered something to Jim, what it was nobody but him knew, before he choked and fell back, dead.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" Mili whispered.

"You did your best." Lili whispered as she rubbed her sister's back. "There wasn't anything you could do."

Ryo noticed Jim now held the circular package in his hands when a light shone on the inn.

Jim peeked through the curtains before he was running, yelling,

"Quick, we've gotta go!" He pulled his mother and Ryo while Lili followed with the weakened Mili and sleepy Marta and Delbert was on their heels after the door was blasted.

"I believe I'm with Jim on this one!" Delbert cried as they ran.

"Marta!" Lili cried.

"Silence." Marta casted and instantly, their footsteps were and their voices were no longer heard below.

* * *

Once they reached a window, Delbert called down to his pet, Delilah, who pulled his wagon.

Sarah and Delbert were preparing to jump, Lili, Mili and Marta behind them when Ryo and Jim, who were the lookouts, suddenly pushed them out.

Luckily, they all landed in the cart and Delbert flicked the reigns instant and they were off. Lili looked back and her eyes widened as she saw the black Shadows on the Benbow Inn.

"Sorry Sarah." She said, to the mother's confusion, before she casted, "Thundara!" Lightning struck the inn, dissipating the Heartless and setting the entire inn ablaze.

Sarah hung her head as Jim opened the package, only to reveal a sphere.

" _That's_ what he was trying to protect? What he died for?" Mili whispered as she struggled to stay awake.

"There must be something more to it." Jim whispered.

"Better be." Lili stated as she slowly removed her cowl and looked at Jim. "Or I just helped those…people and the Heartless burn your inn down for no reason."

"Right, about that…who are you people?!" Jim cried, knowing there was something they were keeping from him.

"We'll explain when we're somewhere safe." Lili stated. Ryo nodded as Lili wrapped an arm around her now sleeping sister.

Marta, who just woke up, suddenly gasped.

"What if that guy was a pirate?!" She suggested excitedly. "This little thing could be worth a lot of money!"

"Doesn't look like it." Jim stated as he examined it.

"Its appearance could be deceiving!" Marta said, hoping she was right.

* * *

 **Location: Delbert's House**

When they reached Delbert's home/observatory, Lili explained everything and then they were given the wonderful news (note the sarcasm) that the Benbow burned to the ground due to the pirates.

Jim covered his mother with a blanket and, not knowing what to say, began to play with the sphere.

"I told you! The guy's a pirate!" Marta bragged to Ryo. "He had a chest and everything!"

"That doesn't mean this is valuable, Marta." Lili cut in.

Suddenly, the sphere Jim was playing with glowed green and the entire room became a large hologram.

"It's…a map!" Delbert gasped in shock. "Wait, wait, wait, wait! This is us, the planet Montressor!" Delbert touched the holographic planet and suddenly the map changed. Delbert pointed out many other star systems as they went, the rest of the group in pure awe as it all went past them.

"Amazing…" Ryo gasped.

"Wow…" Mili, who was once again awake, whispered.

"I _told_ you it was treasure!" Marta grinned.

"It's a map, Marta." Lili stated, even though she too was in awe.

Finally, they reached a single planet.

"Wait, what's this? What's this? Why, it-it's-" Delbert said.

"Treasure Planet." Jim finished with a grin.

"No!" Delbert gasped, shocked.

"Treasure what now?" Mili asked.

"That's Treasure Planet!" Jim grinned, growing excited.

"Is it made of treasure?" Marta asked, excitedly.

"No, but it has all the treasure Captain Flint collected on it!" Jim explained.

"Flint's trove? The loot of a thousand worlds? You know what this means?" Delbert asked.

"It means that all that treasure is only a boat ride away." Jim answered, grinning at the map he still held.

"Whoever brings it back would hold an eternal place atop the pantheon of explorers! He'd be able to experience-" Delbert started when the map suddenly vanished. "Whoo! What just happened?" He asked.

"Mom, this is it! The answer to all our problems!" Jim grinned excitedly at his mother.

Knowing the two needed some time alone, Lili grabbed her partners and pulled them off to the side.

"Did you guys sense the Heartless at the inn?" She asked.

"Y-yeah." Ryo nodded.

"I was too weak to." Mili shrugged with a small smile.

"I was too sleepy." Marta said softly as she fell asleep again. "Right, Lili?" However, she was looking at Mili.

" _I'm Mili_!" Mili yelled, shaking in fury. She had avoided any comments on her height simply because Marta was shorter but she _had_ to go and mix them up.

"Mili, _not now_." Lili stated and though she still shook with fury, Mili complied and stopped, crossing her arms. "Anyway, I think we should go with Jim, maybe we'll find the source if we follow the map to the end."

"That's a smart idea." Marta smiled dreamily as she leaned towards Ryo, who blushed and shifted away slightly.

"J-Jim, mind if we join you?" Ryo called.

Before Jim could answer, Sarah spoke up.

"No, you're _all_ grounded!" She cried. She was obviously frustrated.

"Mom…I know that I keep messing everything up. And I know…that I let you down." Jim said sadly.

Ryo remembered the look of disappointment Jim had worn on the roof and knew the teen was being honest.

"But this is my chance to make it up to you." Jim insisted. "I'm gonna set things right."

"Sarah?" Delbert spoke up nervously. "If I may?" The two adults spoke to each other as Ryo smiled at Jim in encouragement. Eventually, Sarah turned back to her son.

"Jim, I don't want to lose you." Sarah said as she played with Jim's bangs.

"Mom, you won't." Jim insisted with a soft smile as he held his mother's hand in his own. "I'll make you proud."

"And we'll be there to watch him." Lili smirked.

"Hey! I don't need to be watched!" Jim argued.

"She's joking, don't worry." Mili grinned as she lightly punched Jim in the arm.

"You're gonna be stuck with us for a while, so you better get used to us." Marta said as she ran her hand through her hair.

"I promise it, uh, won't be, um, that bad." Ryo promised with a sheepish grin as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, uh, ahem. There we are then. We'll begin preparations at once. Jim, my boy, soon we'll all be off to the spaceport." Delbert grinned out the window.

Jim smiled and shared a look with the older group surrounding him.

"Finally." He whispered.

* * *

 **And there's the chapter! Took me two whole days but it's done! Quick question though: what do you guys think the four should do on the ship? Be cabin boys/girls like Jim or do something else because they're older? Let me know in the reviews!**

 **And this chapter had a heavy focus on Ryo because his story is similar to Jim's and he connects well with Jim so they will be close, not just because they're the only boys.**

 **And the Masters will have their own a subplot before the twins and OCs get involved.**

 **Ryo belongs to Jay Hayden.**

 **Marta belongs to Meyneth24.**

 **Alexina belongs to EmeraldWings1992.**

 **Rickson belongs to Antex-the Legendary Zoroark.**

 **Please let me know if I wrote them correctly!**

 **Leave a review to let me know what you think!**

 **May your heart be your guiding key!**


	4. Chapter 4:Trouble on the Seas of Space

**Hello everyone, I'm back once again! First off, the previous chapter has been edited due to some critics I requested from Rasa the North Wind. I think it's much better now.**

 **Anyway, thanks to ShadowWolf223 (I feel Marta is a sleep walker, always stuck between being awake and asleep), Jay Hayden (Not as much focus on Ryo this time but he is opening up, I promise! This is where his development starts, with Jim and their similar situations.), Antex-The Legendary Zoroark (Trust me, typing out these movies isn't always fun. Never mind the fact that it's killing my back, yeesh, but it's a lot of fun and comments like yours make it worth it!) and EmeraldWings1992 (Since you know what to expect, hope you enjoy every second of this chapter!) for reviewing, all 7 followers, 5 favorites and 362 readers! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I've spent a while writing it out now.**

* * *

 **Location: Land of Departure Kitchen**

Ven sighed as he stared down at his glass of warm milk. Back when he had been an apprentice to Eraqus, he had nightmares that he could never remember when he woke up. The first time it happened, he gave Terra a heart attack with his screams.

The older apprentice had then brought him down to the kitchen and given him warm milk, a drink Aqua had given Terra when they were younger and he had suffered from nightmares and he later returned the favor to her.

Eraqus had been very aware of the nightly routine of his three apprentices, as Aqua eventually joined them when a particularly bad nightmare had Ven screaming so loud he woke her up as well, and had occasionally joined them or simply left them.

Ven sighed again as he found himself missing Terra and Eraqus once again.

Of course, on this dark night, the blonde Master had found himself suffering from another nightmare, though it wasn't the same. This time he remembered it in stark clarity, as he had done for the past few years since Xehanort's defeat.

They were always the same, his past in the Keyblade War, the first journey to defeat Xehanort and the final journey to defeat Xehanort, though that one always ended worse than it actually did, with Xehanort winning and the heroes all dying while Ven did nothing.

And now, they included the deaths of the apprentices, their screams still haunting Ven's ears.

"Hey." Ven looked up as Riku walked into the kitchen, making himself a hot chocolate before he sat beside the oldest Master. "Another nightmare?"

"Yeah." Ven sighed. "Sorry if I woke you."

"It's fine." Riku shrugged. "You've been through worse than any of us, give yourself a break."

"Still…" Ven whispered.

"What'd it involve this time?" Riku asked as he took out the marshmallows.

"Same as always." Ven shrugged as he sipped his milk before he glanced at the book at his side, a picture of him and four others taped to the page he was on.

It was a book he rarely let leave his side, even if it _was_ over a hundred years old.

"You know you don't have to act like it doesn't bother you." Riku said softly. "All of us still have nightmares of our own failings and moments in darkness. We all have baggage, so you're not alone."

"Yeah, but I'm one of the ones people expect to always smile. I can't…let them down." Ven whispered, his eyes darting again to the picture, seeing himself with the arms of a silver haired boy and a black haired girl around his shoulders. They looked like two proud parents with the twelve year old Ven, who was smiling as brightly as the sun, in between them.

He wasn't sure if he was thinking about the friends in the picture or the friends he had now. He was pretty sure at one point the line blurred between the two times and wars he had lived through.

"You never will." Aqua's voice suddenly spoke up from the corner, causing Ven's head to shoot up as he saw the blunette Master walk in while Riku simply sipped his hot chocolate. Aqua reached out and squeezed Ven's hand. "You could never let anyone down, neither living nor dead. You have done the best you can and no matter what happens, those who care for you will _always_ be proud of you. _Always_."

"Thanks." Ven smiled as he returned her squeeze before she got her own milk.

Just then, the communicator in the kitchen went off.

"Hello?" Ven, who had been the closest, asked as he answered it.

Only one person would use this communicator.

" _Yeah, Ven. Listen, this could be a bit more serious than we thought."_ Lea's voice came through clearly.

* * *

 **Location: Unknown**

" _How serious?"_ Ven asked. Lea could hear who he assumed to be Aqua and Riku getting closer so they could hear what he said too.

The redhead Master hesitated as he looked from the communicator to the pictures he held tightly in his hands.

" _Lea?"_ Ven called, concerned.

"I found pictures, Ven." Lea whispered, "Pictures of times long past."

" _What?!"_ The three Masters cried in unison, Ven's being the most concerned as he understood what Lea meant.

"I'll be home soon." Lea whispered before he disconnected and quickly ducked away before the young man he had followed returned.

Clutched in Lea's hand were pictures of a town that appeared to be full of light.

But whoever was behind this had drawn sweeps of black on them.

Sweeps of darkness.

* * *

 **Location: Twilight Town Old Mansion**

Roxas groaned softly as got out of his nice warm bed and began to get dressed.

Since the last battle with Xehanort, Roxas, Xion and Namine had decided to move into the old mansion where Namine had lived for the year she restored Sora's memories.

They lived out their days in peace, Roxas and Xion secretly training in the mansion daily and Namine spending time observing the Heartless with technology given to her by Cid when the three had visited Radiant Garden once.

They had invited Lea to join them, and for a while he did. But when Riku called and asked Lea to travel the worlds with Mili and train her, the redhead had left in order to join the three Masters of the Land of Departure.

Of course, that left the three remaining former Nobodies to work out their new morning rotation.

Every morning, one of them had to get up and go buy breakfast from the market as well as food for the rest of the day. It was easier than buying all that food at once and then having it go bad because they had yet to finish the renovations on the mansion.

Today, sadly, was Roxas' turn.

As he walked down the stairs, the blonde yawned and ran his fingers through his hair, which was longer than it had been when they defeated Xehanort, an action Sora said was necessary to differentiate him and Ven.

 _More like he thinks he can't keep us straight._ Roxas had thought with a chuckle at his former Somebody's complaints.

Speaking of the dolt, in the back of his mind, he could faintly hear Sora complain that his former Nobody and sleeping heart were up so early.

Even though they were now separate people, the connection between Roxas, Sora, Ven and Xion as well as the connection between Kairi and Namine hadn't faded. If Roxas tried hard enough, he could hear the thoughts of Ven or Sora, even if they were worlds away.

* * *

 **Location: Twilight Town Woods**

Roxas took a deep breath of the woods surrounding the mansion he and the girls lived in.

Even though the mansion was separated _greatly_ from the rest of the town, he had to admit that walking in the cool shade of the woods every day was pretty nice, in and of itself.

Of course, the peaceful moment just _had_ to end, apparently.

In less than a second, there was a flash of light and a body suddenly fell onto Roxas, knocking the blonde to the ground.

Roxas groaned as stars filled his vision for a minute before he noticed _who_ had landed on him.

"K-Kairi?!" He stuttered.

Sure enough, the redheaded Princess of Heart was laying horizontally on Roxas' chest, her left hand holding her head in pain while her right held something else, what it was, the blonde didn't know.

Seeing she was in pain, Roxas instantly, but gently, sat up and shifted Kairi so she was sitting up on his lap and began to question her.

Keeping her awake with a possible concussion was the best option.

"Hey, Kairi, you okay?" Roxas asked.

"Y-yeah." Kairi stuttered, her voice not setting off any red flags, thankfully.

Gently, Roxas touched the back of her head where she hit it.

No blood.

"What're you doing here? How did you _get_ here, I thought you were on the Islands with Sora and had no way to get _off the Islands_?" Roxas stressed, Sora's memories of the God forsaken _raft_ the trio of islanders built coming to the forefront of his mind.

He still thought they were dumb for thinking that could work, but he wasn't going to tell Kairi that.

"I used this." Kairi answered, her voice steadier thankfully, as she opened up her right hand to reveal a blue and green Gummi block that was shaped like a star. "It's called a Star Shard, apparently it can take a person to where they're needed most."

"So, this Star Shard thought you needed to come to me?" Roxas asked, skeptical. He may have seen a lot of things so far in his very short life but this was pushing it.

"Apparently. It just appeared on my nightstand this morning and brought me here." Kairi explained.

"Just so you could land on me and almost give both of us concussions." Roxas said, his voice disbelieving.

"I'm telling you, that's what happened! How else do you think I got here?" Kairi said as she casted a quick Cure on the two of them, ridding them of their 'almost concussions'.

"Kairi, I've seen a lot of things but nothing that can convince me that a _Gummi block_ can basically teleport you to _where you're needed_. How does it even know where to go?" Roxas said, his voice incredulous.

"But it's the truth! I don't know how it works but King Mickey might, he used it before. He's how I know how it works somewhat." Kairi insisted, irritatingly brushing her shoulder blade length red hair out of her face. Where bangs had once hung in her eyes, they now only occasionally fell into them while the rest of her hair had grown to rest gently at her shoulder blades, though it always got in her way when she was irritated.

If Roxas wasn't so busy not believing her, he'd chuckle at how she was basically pouting, even if Kairi herself would never admit that.

"Yeah, sure. Let's go with that for now." Roxas stated sarcastically. "If that's true, then why would it bring you to me? To give us concussions?"

" _No._ " Kairi insisted hotly. "It probably wants us both to do something so it brought me to you."

"And gave us both concussions." Roxas raised an eyebrow.

"I've already healed those, Roxas, you baby!" Kairi huffed. "Would you just listen to-"

Kairi's voice was cut off as the Star Shard in her hand began to glow and she and Roxas vanished in a flash of light.

 _She's never gonna let me live this down._ Was Roxas' last thought as they flew away from Twilight Town.

* * *

 **Location: Montressor Space Port**

When Delbert first said they were off to the space port, Lili was honestly not expecting to go to the moon.

Of course, she also wasn't expecting to find the moon was _actually_ a bustling trade center that had ships flying in and out daily.

"These ships are even bigger than the airships back home!" Mili whispered to her younger sister in awe.

"They have ships like this where you come from?" Marta asked, a curious lit to her voice.

"Yeah, though we haven't been on too many." Mili admitted with a sheepish grin.

"Where are you from?" Ryo asked, having overheard the conversation.

"Lili didn't tell you?" Mili asked, confused.

"She likes to keep that information to herself." Marta explained with a wave of her hand before she used said hand to cover a yawn, her eyes glazed over. "I'm from…Twilight Town and Ryo's from…Destiny Islands."

"Well, we're from-" Mili smiled.

"It doesn't matter." Lili cut in coldly, her eyes glaring at her sister. Her raised cowl made the expression much scarier than it otherwise would have been.

"R-right." Mili agreed as her fingers played with her silver locks. "Sorry." To distract herself, the summoner began looking around the space port, something the rest of her party was already doing.

 _This really is a lot bigger than home._ Lili thought as she caught sight of all the ships. That thought unnerved her as she remembered how small her world was compared to this one.

"I think home's better." Mili said, as if she read her sister's thoughts.

"Hey, this way!" Jim called as he waved the party over to where he and Delbert were walking, well Jim was walking and avoiding Delbert like the plaque in his ridiculous astronaut costume, but that was beside the point.

Quickly, the four Keyblade wielders ran over to meet with their traveling companions.

"This is our ship! The _RLS Legacy_." Delbert proclaimed as he raised a gloved paw up to said ship.

"Whoa…" Jim, Ryo and Mili whispered under their breath while Marta smiled up at it and Lili hid her smile under her cowl.

There were all sorts of creatures working on the ship, preparing it to leave as the five young adults walked up onto the deck and all looked around in awe. Of course, then Jim walked into a creature that Delbert had to get him out of.

There was one creature that was ordering the others around. Delbert walked up to him, obviously confident.

"Good morning, Captain." The dog greeted. "Everything shipshape?"

"Shipshape it is, sir." The creature answered. "But I'm not the captain. The captain's aloft."

Looking up, the party watched as a cat swung on the ropes and landed on a beam before she swung down and landed in front of them. While Jim and Delbert seemed shocked, Lili, Mili, Marta and Ryo were excited to have an obviously enthusiastic captain leading the way.

"She reminds me of Sora." Mili whispered to Marta, who nodded in agreement.

Though few of the apprentices knew the Kingdom Key wielder personally, he was well known among them and made it a point to visit the Land of Departure often, with Kairi, Roxas, Namine and Xion always at his side.

"Mr. Arrow, I have checked this miserable ship from stem to stern and as usual, it's spot on." The captain complimented the creature, Mr. Arrow. "Can you get nothing wrong?"

"You flatter me, Captain." Mr. Arrow tipped his hat with a smile. The captain smiled before she turned and faced the newcomers. She stared at Delbert in his ridiculous suit for a second before she smiled.

"Ah, Dr. Dobbler, I presume?" She guessed.

Lili couldn't hear Delbert's mumbled reply through his ridiculous suit.

"Who told him that suit was a clever idea, anyway?" Mili whispered as Marta began to blink rapidly.

"He looks like a snowman!" Marta grinned brightly before she was shushed by Lili and Ryo while Mili and Jim chuckled at her comment.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" The captain teased as she knocked on Delbert's helmet.

"Yes, I can! Stop that banging!" Delbert's muffled voice cried.

Shaking her head at the two, Lili made her way to the side of the _RLS Legacy_ and stared at the bustling city below.

Of course, at the same time, she was subtly observing the crew members that they would be traveling with for the next few months.

 _Thank the Crystals the Masters gave us so much time._

At the same time as she observed, she overheard that the captain's name was Amelia, Mr. Arrow was the first officer and that bringing up the reason they were even on this ship, the map, was a bad idea, if Amelia's quickly moving them to her stateroom was any indication.

* * *

 **Location: Captain Stateroom**

"Doctor, to muse and blabber about a treasure map in front of this particular crew demonstrates a level of ineptitude that borders on the imbecilic and I mean that in a very caring way." Amelia admonished.

"Imbecilic, did you say? Foolishness, I've-" Delbert started.

"May I see the map?" Amelia requested.

Delbert froze and Jim waited for the dog to give some kind of sign for what he should do.

"Give her the map, Jim." Lili said, her voice detached as she lowered her cowl and glared at the teenager.

"Here." Jim said as he took the sphere out and threw it at Amelia. Even though the captain caught it, Mili still rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, like that's not rude or anything." She stated.

"But I thought it was rude." Marta said as she stretched her arms.

"Mr. Hawkins, in the future, you and your friends will address me as 'captain' or 'ma'am'. Is that clear?" Amelia requested as she placed the map in a box in a wardrobe and locked both. It was obvious from the looks she was sending the Keyblade wielders over her shoulder that she wished to speak with them.

Said wielders all vocally agreed to her conditions while Jim simply rolled his eyes.

"Jim." Lili stated, her glare ice cold.

"Mr. Hawkins?" Amelia called as the boy remained silent, her tone containing a warning.

"Yes, ma'am." The teen finally relented.

"That'll do." Amelia nodded as she finished locking the wardrobe.

"Gentlemen and ladies, this must be kept under lock and key when not in use." Amelia explained. "And doctor, again with the greatest possible respect, zip your howling screamer."

"Captain, l assure you l-" Delbert started.

"Let me make this as monosyllabic as possible. l don't much care for this crew you hired. They're...how did l describe them, Arrow? l said something rather good this morning before coffee." Amelia said as she looked at her first mate.

"'A ludicrous parcel of driveling galoots,' ma'am." Arrow answered.

There you go-poetry." Amelia smirked.

"Now, see here-" Delbert tried to argue.

"Doctor, l'd love to chat-tea, cake, the whole shebang-but l have a ship to launch...and you've got your outfit to buff up. Mr. Arrow, please escort these two neophytes...down to the galley straightaway. Young Hawkins will be working for our cook, Mr. Silver." Amelia ordered, "Those four will be staying right here so I am speak with them."

"What? The cook?" Jim gasped.

"Come on, you two, this way." Arrow said as he led the doctor and the teen out of the stateroom so the captain could speak to the wielders in private.

"You four are different from them, aren't you?" Amelia said. Though it was phrased as a question, it obviously was not one.

"What do you mean, Captain?" Mili asked, tilting her head to the side.

"I mean, you come from a planet far beyond our stars and know more than we could hope to at this point in time." The Captain explained.

"And what would you do if we said yes?" Marta asked.

"I want to know why you're here." Amelia stated, her eyes narrowed at the monk.

"We're hunting the darkness." Lili answered, meeting Amelia's eyes head on. "We are warriors that were entrusted to find the source of Montressor's darkness. My senses are very attuned to this source and, though I cannot identify it, I can sense that it is near."

"So, can the rest of us." Marta added. "This is our job, Captain, to travel different planets and rid them of the largest and most dangerous source of darkness they have and, I'm afraid, you cannot interfere. Our orders come from our Masters and our Masters alone."

"We're not here to cause trouble or anything." Mili cut in. "We just want to do our job and leave."

"We, uh, have to keep, um, o-our cover though." Ryo said. "S-so nobody, um, knows what we're, ah, doing. It's, uh, part of our job." As he finished speaking, the knight turned a bit pink and looked away.

"But if there are any problems…" Lili said, her voice taking on a warning tone. She mumbled something under her breath and, suddenly, a small shuriken was in her grasp. "We _will_ resolve them in order to complete our mission."

"We will, however, cooperate with you while we are on your ship. We just wanted to give you a heads up before something happens and we can't do anything to explain." Marta finished with a sweet smile that told Mili and Ryo she had had this conversation with many people before.

Mission experience, Ven had called it.

"Very well then. May I know your names in order to know who I'm working with?" Amelia requested, relatively calm despite the small shuriken just inches away from her hands.

Lili found herself impressed by the captain's bravery as she mumbled under her breath so the shuriken would vanish.

"The boy is Ryo Grace and I'm Marta Lesia!" Marta grinned brightly. "But you can call me Martty, and these two are Liliana and Miliana…" Marta trailed off as she realized she didn't know the twins' last name. She turned to the two with her head cocked to the side. "What's your last name again?"

"It's…"

* * *

Within minutes, the four were on the deck and watching as the crew prepared the ship to fly.

The party of four stood near the side, out of the way and near enough to look over the ship as it began to fly. It was an amazing sight, a sentiment Jim seemed to share as he excitedly looked around and made sure he saw everything that was happening.

"You ever think we'd see an airship take flight again?" Mili whispered to her sister.

"Mil, this is more than an airship. Man, Dad would've loved these." Lili smiled behind her cowl, raised again to avoid the crew.

"And try to get some for home." Mili added with a laugh.

"And name them." Lili finished with a grin.

"Have you ever been on a ship like this?" Marta asked Ryo as she rubbed at her eyes to dispel any sleepiness; it didn't work.

"No. My mom used, uh, to take me fishing on the ocean s-surrounding the islands but never anything, ah, like this." Ryo admitted softly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I've never done anything like this either. I was always at home and sleeping before I came to the Land." Marta answered as she played with her goggles.

Suddenly, galactic orcas swam by.

"So _that's_ how Monstro was able to survive." Mili whispered to Marta and Ryo, all of them having heard the adventures of Sora many times over the years.

"It's plausible." Marta agreed. "Maybe these whales can all sense each other like we can sense darkness. Oooh, maybe that's how they form pods and how they know where to go and what places to avoid. Oh! Maybe that's why they're so colorful, because that's how they sense each other!"

As Marta continued to ramble, a cyborg walked up to them.

"You Rybo?" He asked Ryo.

"Uh…" The knight trailed off, shrinking away from the huge cyborg.

"Hey, are you Rybo? If you are, Cap'n says you and Jimbo are my cabin boys." The cyborg said.

"So, you're, uh…Mr. Silver?" Ryo asked quietly.

"Right ya are, Rybo~!" The cyborg, Silver, grinned. "Name's John Silver, I'm the cook on this 'ere ship! Now, this is Mr. Mop. Hop to it!" As he spoke, Silver shoved a mop into Ryo's hands and pointed at the deck.

Turning, Ryo saw a pouting Jim already getting to work.

"Uh, right." He mumbled as he made his way over to the teen.

The entire time, Marta was still rambling about orcas until Amelia, not trusting the girl who could wake and sleep in a second, told her to enter the crow's nest and be the lookout.

* * *

Lili stood beside Delbert, who was still in that _ridiculous_ suit, as they helped navigate the ship.

While Ryo was a cabin boy, Marta was just kept out of the way and Lili was a navigator, Mili had been trusted as the medic for the ship and, looking out towards the deck, the ninja could see her sister, the knight and the teen all out on deck, though Mili was sitting and simply watching the stars since she had nothing to actively do.

"So, Lili, what's your planet like?" Delbert suddenly asked.

"Pardon?" Lili asked, startled out of her thoughts.

"I like learning about other planets, you see. I was wondering what yours was like." Delbert explained.

"Nothing like Montressor or the space port, that's for sure." Lili chuckled dryly. "My planet doesn't matter much, it's gone anyway. I can't get it back."

"I'm sorry. Would it be too painful if I asked you to describe it?" Delbert asked carefully.

Lili looked at the astrophysicist and finally caved.

"Alright. Well, my world's kinda old fashioned. We live in kingdoms, some more advanced than others. But each kingdom's ruler is kind and fair towards the people and is willing to sacrifice themselves if it means their people will be safe. We also have airships that allow us to go from, say, my kingdom to the kingdom that lives in the desert." Lili explained. "But we can't travel to other planets, though we have gone to the moon. My parents are the ones who taught Mili and I everything we know and, well, they're my role models."

"Really now?" Delbert questioned.

"Yes. I wouldn't be who I am without them. Of course, I also wouldn't be able to help you navigate without them." Lili chuckled before she returned the conversation to navigating the _RLS Legacy. That's enough reminiscing for now._

* * *

Ryo found himself spending a lot of time with Jim and Silver, heck the cyborg never let the boys out of his sight.

Of course, once he learned Jim's father had left him, Ryo had been trying to talk to him. It hadn't been working out too well until Silver took them out on a boat ride, letting Jim drive as he did, and they got back.

Once the boat was tied up and everyone relaxed, Ryo faced Jim.

"So, uh, how long ago did your, um, dad leave?" He asked softly.

"Years ago. He just left one day…and never looked back." Jim said, his face falling.

Ryo opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to get the words out, to _relate_ , to _emphasize_ with this young man, the only person he's ever met who might possibly…

Understand.

"Mine left too." Ryo whispered finally. "Didn't want anything to do with me or my mom." His voice was as bitter as it was hard to hear.

"Oh, Rybo…" Silver sighed, facing his other cabin boy.

Ryo looked away for a second before he turned the subject to Silver.

He couldn't stay on that subject, he couldn't remember that _pain_ in his mother's eyes.

* * *

Mili was admiring the stars yet again, bored out of her mind, when the boat shook and Delbert started yelling about a supernova and Amelia began to yell at people to get in formation.

Quickly, Mili ran to tie a lifeline around her waist and looked up to where her sister stood beside Delbert.

Lili was frozen in fear.

Mili's eyes widened as she looked at the super nova, at the _fire_ racing towards the _RLS Legacy_ , coming closer with every second.

"Dammit!" Mili cried as she grabbed a lifeline for her sister and ran up to her sister. She tied the rope around Lili's waist as Jim, Ryo and Silver headed up to secure the sails while Marta made her way to the twins, all of them with lifelines on.

Mili looked over at the super nova and made a decision. This was for her sister, for Ryo and Marta and Jim and Delbert and for the captain that trusted them all.

"Ritual Link!" Mili shouted as she brought her hands to her heart.

Green light formed around her hands before she raised her arms up and then out to the sides, as if she were waiting for a hug, and the now green orb floated above her.

"From the depths of the Feymarch, I call you to my side! Come, Sylph!" The summoner called as she raised her right hand up into the orb. As she finished speaking, the orb scattered.

A flower came out of the orb, it spun in a circle several times before the three fairies resting on it flew off and flew in a circle before they came before Mili.

"Miliana!" The Sylphs cried in unison. "It's been so long!"

"Hello, Sylphs, it's good to see you again." Mili smiled even as she gathered Lili in her arms and her breathing began to become heavier. "Listen, I need you to help destroy those balls of fire coming at us, okay?"

"Of course, anything for the daughter of our beloved summoner!" The Sylphs agreed before they flew off.

Not one person on the crew noticed as the Sylphs began to help them and Mili paid them no mind as she faced her sister.

"Lili, Lili, listen to me! We're not back home, Mom's village isn't burning again, we're _here_. On the _RLS Legacy_ , you have to come back to me. Come on, Lil, listen, you're safe, it's all gonna be alright, there's no fire that's gonna hurt you." Mili said repeatedly. She kept saying the same things over and over, reminding her sister that they were far from home and the fire couldn't hurt her or the people she loved.

Lili simply remained frozen, staring into nothing with her now dark hazel eyes. Marta had never seen the ninja look as lost as she did now but Mili refused to give up, hugging her sister tightly and reminding her that they were alright, that the fire wouldn't reach them, that their mother's home town and their family was alright.

It was all she could do and yet Lili did not respond.

Suddenly, the ship shook as chunks of burning rock flew at it. Though most were destroyed by the crew and the Sylph, which allowed Mili to breathe easier for a second. Just as Mili thought they'd be okay, a giant burning rock began to come toward them.

It was huge, too huge for the crew or the Sylph. Mili grabbed her sister tightly, holding her head against her shoulder tightly, waiting for the blow to come.

 _Mom…Dad…everyone…we'll see you soon._

The blow never came, however. Instead, wind began to blow them towards the super nova.

That's when Delbert yelled that it was becoming a blackhole.

Panic overrode every sense Mili had and she forced herself to focus on Lili and Lili only. She could feel the Sylph trying to escape the blackhole, their wind magic useless now. Already, Mili could feel the strain yet she couldn't do anything.

"Marta!" She shouted. "Try something!"

"Slow!" Marta cried, her voice distant to Mili's mind. Vaguely, she felt the ship shifting as the monk tried to force the ship to slow.

Ryo, from what the summoner could see, was remaining calm, following Arrow, Amelia and Silver's orders quickly and efficiently, well as much as he could as Amelia changed her orders.

"Ms. Lesia! Release your magic!" Amelia ordered and Mili did so, trusting the captain.

Mili tightened her grip, trying to remain positive even as tears formed in her eyes.

Suddenly, they were flying full speed ahead away from the fire and the black hole and Lili collapsed onto her older sister, trembling and crying even as the crew celebrated around them and cheered for Amelia and Delbert's quick thinking.

"Shhh, it's okay, Lili, it's okay." Mili whispered, rubbing her younger sister's back.

"Miliana!" The Sylphs cried as they reached her.

"Thank you for your help, you may go home now." Mili smiled. The Sylphs all wishes her luck before they vanished as they came, in a flash of green light.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ryo ran over to Jim and high fived him.

"You did great, Jim!" he grinned, as he had been up helping get the sails back _down_ while Jim was checking the lines.

"Thanks. You did too, Ryo." Jim grinned back before his face became serious. "And if your dad didn't want you, then he didn't deserve you _or_ your mom. You're both worth far more than he could ever see."

Ryo's smile fell as he looked away shyly.

"Oh, uh, thanks. You and your mom too. Uh, I mean, you and your mom are, um, worth a lot more than your dad could, ah, ever deserve." He stumbled over his words even as he smiled at Jim, who smiled back at him while Silver watched over the two with a proud smile.

Then the news came that Arrow had fallen overboard, his lifeline not secured apparently.

* * *

That night, Jim stared at the stars as he held the lifeline in his hands. Ryo climbed up so he was beside him.

"It wasn't your fault." Ryo said softly.

"Yes, it was. _I_ was supposed to check the lifelines and now Mr. Arrow's dead! It's my fault! I screwed up!" Jim insisted.

"No, you didn't! You're not a screw up, no matter what anyone, even you, says!" Ryo insisted, his anger at Jim's insults to himself overruling his shyness. "You are an _amazing_ person, Jim! Sometimes I _wish_ I could be as brave and tough as you are, but I'm not! So, don't go saying you screwed up and this is your fault because it _isn't_! You…you are meant for so much more than what you think. I saw you up there, taking care of the ship, you _belong_ here, on a ship just like this! So, don't do this stuff to yourself because you are meant for so much more than you think!"

Out of breath, Ryo climbed down and made his way to the crow's nest, where Marta waited.

"You okay, Ryo?" Marta yawned as she slept.

"Yeah, I'll be fine…" Ryo mumbled as he sat beside her and stared at the stars. _Kingdom Hearts, please let Mr. Arrow find his peace now that he's been lost to us all._

* * *

Mili never left her sister's side that night and Lili was grateful for it.

All she could see was the Heartless attacking her mother's village as she stared, trapped in a magic circle that was going to save her, her sister and their friends. The others had fallen asleep, prepared for the spell, while she stayed awake, still yet unaffected, and watched.

Watched as the Heartless lit her mother's village on fire.

Watched as her grandmother's grave was concealed from sight by smoke.

Watched as the village elders struggled to breath, to save the children that weren't as lucky as her.

Watched as that silhouette, that Crystals forsaken silhouette!, of a woman with horns walked towards the village, towards the children and young adults that were escaping.

Watched as her parents, her aunts and her uncles defended their world one last time, standing for the final time as kings and queens in the place where they had been set on the path they were on, where her mother lost her mother and ended up going on an adventure to save the world with the least likely of allies.

Watched as the fire and smoke blocked her view of them all and giving her the worse sense of what their fate was.

Watched as the darkness consumed her world.

"Mom…Dad…" She whispered as she cried. She could feel Mili's tears landing in her hair, even though Mili had never been told of these things Lili saw.

Those images were ones Lili would take to the grave or, so help her Crystals, she would kill _anyone_ who forced her to reveal these images.

These haunting images…they were her weakness and yet they gave her strength, even as she froze in front of fire and refused the magic of it. They reminded her of why she was fighting, for _who_ she was fighting.

That was all that they would remain, besides the bad memories they were.

* * *

 **Location: Unknown**

A pale young man with silver hair and gleaming gold eyes stared into the crystal ball, watching as the ninja fell into the summoner's arms while the monk and knight slept, completely unware.

He slid his right pointer finger across the image to see it ripple before he saw the trio of Masters worriedly discussing the news they had been given, news he _let_ them have, blissfully unaware of his _true_ influence. Such insignificant scum such as them could only catch on if he allowed them to.

He slid his finger and the image rippled again to show that bothersome redhead flying his Gummi Ship home. Not like he could understand anything of _their_ plan, after all. What a waste of such dark potential.

He slid his finger once more and the image rippled to show another bothersome redhead and a pesky blonde flying to some unknown world. They were a wild card, to be sure, but he could handle them.

He slid his finger one last time and the final image showed every Keyblade wielder in the worlds as they trained, worried, cried, mourned and prepared for what was to come.

But they don't know what awaits them, what _they_ had in store for these pesky wielders.

"So sad, really. Very sad." He sighed as he flicked a strand of hair out of his face before he smirked. "All the more fun for me."

He turned just as the darkness gathered, his smirk never ceasing to fall.

* * *

 **Well? How was it? You got the Masters subplot introduced, you've got a Roxas/Kairi subplot introduced, you've got all sorts of info on the twins, Ryo and Marta AND you got to meet one of our two villains. I had to admit, I was excited about that ending just cause it suddenly hit me: he's GOTTA be watching them cause otherwise what the heck is he doing?**

 **And so everyone knows, there will be subplots the original KH characters, Sora, Kairi, Riku and their respective groups, however, and this is the big one, NO CANON PAIRINGS ARE GUARANTEED, I WILL BE CHANGING PAIRINGS BASED ON HOW I'D LIKE THESE ARCS TO GO SO IF YOU DO NOT LIKE MY SUSPECTED PAIRINGS PLEASE DON'T FLAME ME. On top of that, the KH character pairings won't be as center stage as the twins and the other OCs' pairings but it's just a warning.**

 **Also, to anyone who sent me an OC, I will soon be contacting each of you with the OC I believe matches your character's love interest description. So far, the twins and four OCs are paired off, the creators know to whom. Let me know if the OC I suggest isn't the one you'd like as the options for love interests is falling and relationship development is one I LOVE writing.**

 **Anyways! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review to let me know what you think!**

 **May your heart be your guiding key!**


	5. Chapter 5:Treasure Planet at Last

**Hello everyone, I am back once again! Sorry for taking a while, I've been busy and real life has started catching up with me. I've had this story partly done since…late July/early August so it's not like I forgot or anything, time just wouldn't give me anything. Anyway! This chapter, sadly, does not conclude the Treasure Planet plot, sorry but the movie is very long and I guess I didn't make the first TP chapter as long as I should've. But now there's a nice long chapter her, including a battle to show off Ryo and Marta finally and some more subplots being laid down as well as the appearance of the rest of the OCs, cause this was a good balance and too good an opportunity to pass up. Also, thanks to Antex-the Legendary Zoroark (But of course, that's his job!) for reviewing, all 9 followers, all 7 favorites and all 451 readers! If you PMed me your review, sorry I forgot and couldn't find it. Anyway, enjoy and I'll see you at the bottom!**

* * *

 **Location: Land of Departure Training Grounds**

Alexina grunted as Aqua's Keyblade came down on her shield with surprising swiftness.

"Now!" Aqua instructed and Alexina swung her Keyblade in response, forcing the bluenette Master to jump back to avoid the powerful counter attack.

Before either woman could move, however, a voice interrupted them.

"DAMMIT MAHIR, YOU MADE ME LOSE!"

Alexina frowned as she tried to remember whose voice that was.

"Looks like the others are in the rec room." Aqua chuckled as she banished Rainfall. "Why don't you go see what they're up to?"

"Master, I would like to continue our spar." Alexina insisted.

"There'll be plenty of time for that. It's not often almost all the apprentices are here, you should get to know them since you're still new." Aqua waved it off.

"If you insist." Alexina nodded as she banished her Keyblade and shield before she bowed to her master. "Thank you for the spar, Master Aqua."

"Go on, now." Aqua chuckled as she waved the gladiator towards the rec room.

* * *

 **Location: Land of Departure Rec Room**

When Alexina entered the rec room, she was somewhat surprised at what she saw.

The one who had yelled was Rickson, based on the fact that he was now sitting away from the rest of the apprentices with a pout on his face as he played something on an acoustic guitar.

The rest of the apprentices, Sari, Mahir, Maia and Jack were sitting in a circle with a pile of cards in the center.

Mahir was laughing with Maia as they whispered to each other while Jack and Sari were collecting the cards in order to start their game over.

Sari was the first to notice Alexina and she smiled brightly as she did so.

"Hi! You're Lexi, Master Aqua's new apprentice, right?" She greeted.

"It's Alexina, actually." Alexina corrected as she eyed the redheaded Time Mage.

"That's the same as calling a rose the flower of love." Sari shook her head, her smile never wavering. "Do you want to join us? We're playing-"

"DAMMIT MAIA!" Rickson suddenly cursed and the entire group of apprentices turned to see Maia had a joy buzzer in her hand, laughing so hard tears were falling from her eyes. "YOU THREW OFF MY GROOVE!"

"Way to go, Iggy!" Mahir cheered his partner in crime on. "Hey, Ricky, wasn't that _shocking_?"

"This isn't the time for jokes, Mahir!" Rickson growled as he fixed his static filled violet hair, his red streaks in particular standing on end. "I _almost_ had the melody I've been working on for _months_ done!"

"Aw, poor Ricky." Maia teased as she ruffled his hair, causing Rickson to stand and walk to the other side of the rec room, near where Sari was sitting.

"Oh, come on, Ricky, I'm sure you'll finish it soon." Sari smiled reassuringly.

Rickson looked down, his bangs shading his face as he mumbled his thanks.

Of course, the next thing he knew was a water bottle being pressed into his face, courtesy of Jack.

"Uh…" Rickson trailed off.

"You've been yelling for a while, I thought you'd like some water." Jack smiled obliviously.

Alexina wasn't sure _what_ made the paladin think that was the most pressing issue.

"Thanks, Jack." Rickson chuckled as he took the bottle good-naturedly.

"And you two, what were you thinking?" Sari turned on the two thieves. "You _know_ what Ricky's like when you interrupt him!"

"Heh, sorry Sar." Mahir grinned, his grin saying the opposite.

"Yeah, we're really sorry." Maia nodded solemnly as she placed her hand on Sari's shoulder, causing the joy buzzer to go off and shock the other redhead.

"Ha! Got ya good, Sar!" Mahir laughed before he noticed Alexina, who had been watching this whole time, as Sari began to scold Maia. "So, Lexi, you gonna join us?"

"My name's Alexina." Alexina corrected with a frown.

"Mahir gives everyone nicknames." Jack supplied with a small smile.

"Even J!" Mahir nodded with a bright grin.

"Cause it's the only nickname you can get out of Jack." Jack explained.

"It's like a rite of passage with Mahir!" Maia jumped in. "He's been here the second longest, after all."

"Who is the first?" Alexina asked.

"Lil!" Mahir answered as he folded his hands behind his head. "You wouldn't _believe_ how long it took me to get her to show her face. Finally, I tricked her by jumping in her room!"

"Yes, cause jumping a girl older than you in the middle of the night in her room is proper." Rickson rolled his eyes good naturedly.

"Hey, it worked! She was so startled, she actually scratched my face! It was pretty _claw_ some, if I do say so myself!" Mahir grinned.

"Really? You do puns too?" Alexina questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"And he helps me prank everyone!" Maia added happily, not catching the slight sarcasm in the gladiator's tone.

"That's not something to be proud of, Maia!" Sari scolded, hands on her hips as she stared down the proud dark red-haired thief/Red Mage.

"I never hurt you guys so it's fine!" Maia stated. "Master Aqua says it helps with training."

"And she's becoming a pro!" Mahir added with a grin.

"And she owns up to it, so no one is falsely accused!" Jack grinned brightly as he fist bumped the air.

"That's not the issue!" Sari scolded the two boys. "And Jack, do _not_ start on another rant about false accusations!"

"They're a real issue though!" Jack cried as he got in Sari's personal space.

"Like we haven't heard this one before." Mahir rolled his eyes sarcastically as he fell on his back.

"But we always hear it." Maia stated as she sat beside the black-haired thief.

"Just leave them be." Rickson shook his head as he strummed on his guitar. "They'll be done soon."

"Okay." Maia shrugged as she pulled a flute out of her pocket and began to play, Mahir humming along to her song.

"You can join us, Alexina." Rickson offered the dark brown-haired girl, who gazed at him through copper highlights.

"Thank you." Alexina nodded as she sat down beside the Red Mage and watched the antics of the rest of the apprentices.

The more she observed of them, of Sari and Jack arguing over Jack's habit of ranting about false accusations, of Sari and Mahir switching between whispering about pranks and jokes and simply playing/listening to the flute and of Rickson quietly playing his guitar while occasionally making comments about the others' antics, the more Alexina found she could trust them for as long as she was here.

And that was all she needed to observe before she slowly began to join in.

* * *

 **Location: Twilight Town Old Mansion**

Namine and Xion shared a look as the clock chimed in the foyer of the mansion.

Roxas was officially an hour late.

Even on the days where he was sidetracked by Hayner, Pence and Olette, he was always back home in less than an hour after he left.

Now they were, officially, allowed to worry.

"We should go look for him." Namine suggested as she bit her lip.

"Right, let's go." Xion nodded, determined.

The former Nobody and replica walked out of the mansion, determined to find the boy who had completed their trio since Lea left three years ago.

* * *

 **Location: Twilight Town Woods**

Twenty minutes later, the girls had searched the entire market and eaten breakfast when they saw the Gummi Ship fly towards the woods.

Hoping it was Roxas, the two followed it only to be surprised that it was Sora who exited.

"Sora?" Xion called as she spotted the brunette. "Is something wrong? Have you seen Roxas?"

"No." Sora shook his head as he reached the girls, his brows furrowed. "Though I did pick up some exasperation and thoughts about water on his mind, that's not why I came here. Have you guys seen Kairi?"

"Kairi's missing too?" Namine's eyes widened. "But I haven't sensed anything besides annoyance."

"Annoyance?" Sora mumbled. "But why would Kairi be annoyed?"

"At the very least, neither she nor Roxas are in danger." Xion smiled before she turned to the Kingdom Key wielder. "Sora, why do you have a Gummi Ship?"

"King Mickey, Donald and Goofy loaned it to me." Sora explained. "They're on their way to meet with Master Yen Sid, Riku, Aqua and Ven via a Star Shard. I was hoping Namine would know where Kairi is."

"I'm sorry, Sora." Namine bowed her head in apology, hiding her guilty expression. "I wish I could do more."

"It's okay. Guess there's no other option." Sora suddenly grinned brightly.

"What option?" Namine and Xion asked in unison.

"You guys are gonna help me hunt down Roxas and Kairi!" Sora suggested. "Come on, we'd make a great team!"

"Sora, I…I don't go on these kinds of missions." Namine protested.

"Oh, come on, Namine! It'll be fun!" Sora pleaded, giving the blonde his best puppy dog eyes.

"And it'd be good for us to leave this town for a while. We haven't left in seven years, after all." Xion added with a smile.

"But I'm not…" Namine trailed off.

"You've been training in magic and you're good at it." Xion cut in seriously.

"And Xion and I can show you the ropes!" Sora added with a grin that rivaled the sun. "I know you can do it, Namine. So, why don't you try?"

"I…oh, okay! Alright, I'll come." Namine agreed with a small, unsure smile. "We'll go look for Roxas and Kairi together."

"Yes!" Xion and Sora cheered before they high fived. Namine shook her head as she chuckled at their antics before the three boarded the Gummi Ship, prepared to hunt down their missing friends.

* * *

 **Location: Unknown**

"Right on schedule…wouldn't you agree?"

* * *

 **Location: Unknown**

She sat under the same tree she had sat under since she came to this world nine years ago. And, just like always, she was strumming on her harp.

"نحن يجب أن يكون جريئا  
ونحن يجب أن يكون شجاعا  
ونحن يجب أن يكون حرا  
نحن فلدي الحصول على بصوت عال  
مما يجعل هذا التغيير  
"كنت تعتقد فلدي

She was lucky the natives of this world spoke in a tongue similar to one of the four languages she spoke. She could hear them singing even now, as far as she was from their village.

 _"_ _Hega hega ya-hi-ye-hega  
Ya-hi-ye-ne-he hega  
Hega hega ya-hi-ye-hega  
Ya-hi-ye-ne-he hega"_

…nine years was a long time to be alone. Nine long, lonely years without her cousin or her childhood friends. She often wondered where they were, if they were safe and if they all at least had each other.

She was a _bit_ worried she'd forget all her languages, especially the one most commonly used in her world.

Thankfully, that curious girl always came to visit, helping her learn this world and, as thanks, she taught the girl her many languages, so that they always understood each other.

Suddenly, a rustling broke her out of her thoughts and her head whipped towards the source.

" _Who's there_?" She called in her native tongue. If it was a local, they'd speak and she could easily switch. Even as she waited, however, her hand slowly reached for the bow that rested in the quiver on her back while she returned her harp to the pouch that held it at her waist. The bangles on her wrists jingled as she moved, though the sound was hardly noticeable.

The man in the shadows, for her senses told her he was _indeed_ a man, a man with a life force she had never sensed before at that, stepped forward slightly into the light. She could see his strange, armored shoes and pleated tan pants he wore.

"I mean you no harm." He said.

Ah, so he spoke the language of her surrogate uncle's kingdom.

"Any person who means no harm would show themselves." She answered. Her bow was now in her hand, an arrow carefully nocked. "Show me your face or I will fire with no mercy."

The man didn't answer. However, in a flash of block and ring-shaped light, there was a weapon in his hands. A strange, brown sword-like weapon.

Her eyes narrowed as she sensed his intent.

The man ran forward.

The arrow was released.

* * *

 **Location:** ** _RLS Legacy_**

Ryo woke up the next morning with a groan, only to see he had slept in the crow's nest all night.

 _I guess I fell asleep beside Marta…_ Ryo thought drowsily before he suddenly sat up and his face turned red. It had been the first time he had slept beside a girl since…his mother…

Ryo shook the thoughts off and looked around, trying to find where the sleepy monk had gone.

"Marta?" He called, slightly worried. Never mind the fact that she had been on more missions then he had, Marta was still younger than him by three years and he needed to make sure she was safe. "Marta? You here?"

"Ryo." Marta's voice said. The black haired knight looked up only to see Marta standing behind him on the rail of the crow's nest, her brown hair blowing in the wind, yellow streaks catching the light. Her voice was serious, reminding Ryo that this _was_ an experienced warrior before him.

"What's wrong?" Ryo asked, concern outweighing his shyness.

"The darkness is growing. You can sense it, can't you? The overwhelming greed…" Marta whispered, her eyes trained on the deck.

Ryo's senses sharpened as he paid attention, feeling the hope and excitement from his own friends before he finally sensed the hidden, yet steadily growing, darkness of greed.

"Yeah, I sense it." Ryo nodded, his brows drawing in confusion. "It wasn't here before though."

"No, it's always been here." Marta shook her head. "It was simply hidden very carefully. The closer we get to our destination, however-"

"The stronger and more prevalent it gets!" Ryo gasped as it clicked.

"Very good, I knew you'd understand, Ry!" Marta grinned brightly as she met Ryo's indigo colored eyes with her own gray blue ones.

Ryo felt himself let out a breath at Marta's grin. It was nice seeing her back to her old self, at least.

Of course, he found himself blushing a second later as her words registered.

"I-it's nothing. I'm sure a-anyone could've gotten that." Ryo denied as he frustratingly ran his hand through his hair. _Why can't I stop acting like this?_

"Land ho!" A voice suddenly called and the two world travelers looked up to see Treasure Planet in sight.

As they approached, however, the darkness the two sensed seemed to grow ever closer.

"Ryo! Martty!" Mili suddenly called and the two turned to see her in the Captain's Quarters.

"On it!" Marta grinned as she saluted the summoner before she jumped off from the crow's nest, casting Slow on herself as she did so, and ran to meet up with the twins.

Ryo was right behind her, thanking Kingdom Hearts that the Captain's Quarters was not soaked in the greed of the rest of the ship.

* * *

 **Location: Captain's Quarters**

"You sense it too, right?" Mili asked once she barred the door. Inside, Amelia, Delbert and Lili stood. Before the door could be barred, however, Jim suddenly burst in, panting.

"Pirates! Silver and the rest of the crew are pirates!" Jim blurted out, Morph flying around him as he did.

Instantly, Amelia leapt into action, unlocking her cabinet and throwing a gun at Delbert before she took out the map.

"What do we do? They're the source of the Heartless, right?" Ryo asked as the four travelers grouped together.

"Most likely, the darkness in their hearts are calling to the Heartless." Lili said thoughtfully as she distractedly played with her raised cowl.

Ryo noticed how pale she looked, paler than normal at least, and the circles under her eyes.

"Lili, are you okay?" He asked, concerned.

"I'm fine. We need to focus on our mission." Lili stated coldly as she turned away.

"O-Okay, uh, sorry…" Ryo mumbled.

"In order to do that, we need to take out the source of the Heartless." Mili said thoughtfully.

"Meaning we have to take out the Heartless controlling the pirates. But the trick is figuring out who's the head honcho." Marta added.

"That's typically the captain." Lili nodded.

"Jim! Who's the pirates' captain?" Mili called.

"It's…Silver…" Jim answered sadly.

"What?!" Ryo cried, not believing the cook who had taught him and Jim so diligently was the captain of a crew of pirates.

Suddenly, the party noticed the door sparking.

"They're trying to get through! We have to move, now!" Marta ordered, experience kicking in.

"Thundara!" Lili cried as she pointed at the floor. The bolt of lightning shot through the floor surprisingly quietly, creating a large enough hole for them to escape through. "Captain! You first!"

Amelia said nothing as she led the way, Delbert stumbling behind her while Jim and the world travelers moved with a bit more ease and Morph flew quickly and easily.

* * *

 **Location: Longboat Hanger**

When they reached the longboats, however, that's when the Heartless appeared.

"Ryo!" Lili ordered.

On reflex, Ryo summoned his Keyblade, Shattered Heart. The hand guard was shaped like a broken heart with a silver grip, a gray blade and red teeth, the keychain being a black broken heart on a red chain.

"What do I do?" Ryo asked.

"Get the Heartless!" Lili ordered as she and Amelia dragged Delbert out of trouble while destroying the mechanism to open the door while Marta and Mili protected Jim, Morph and the map with their own Keyblades.

"Clear a path!" Mili added.

"R-right!" Ryo nodded before he ran forward and cut through the Shadows with relative ease. _Training with Master Ven must've paid off…_

* * *

 _"_ _Ugh!" Ryo grunted as he was thrown back by Tidus for the tenth time that week, his wooden sword clattering uselessly at his side._

 _"_ _Come on, Ry! You giving up?" Tidus questioned as he held his paddle in a relaxed stance._

 _Ryo panted as he looked up at the older boy._

Why do I keep trying? I'm never gonna be as good as he is…

 _"_ _Ryo?"_

 _Said boy turned to see his mother watching him with a smile, her black hair blowing gently in the ocean breeze._

 _"_ _Do you need a break? We can go have dinner, if you'd like." She offered kindly._

 _Ryo stared at her before he clenched his fist tightly, feeling his silver skull ring dig into his hand._

I can't give up. I have to protect her.

 _And with that, ten year old Ryo Grace stood and faced Tidus once again._

* * *

Ryo ducked out of the way of a claw before he destroyed the final Heartless.

"Let's go!" He shouted as Jim, Delbert, Mili and Marta jumped in the longboat while Lili and Amelia worked together to open the hatch so they could escape.

 _Almost there…we're almost there…_ Ryo thought as he panted, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Those may have been Shadows, but encountering so many at once for the first time could tire out anyone.

Suddenly, however, Morph stole the map.

"Morph! No!" Jim cried as the shapeshifter flew off the longboat just as Amelia and Lili jumped in it. Jim quickly jumped off, running after Morph as the pirates entered, Silver leading the way.

"Jim!" Ryo cried.

"I'm on it!" Marta cried as she jumped off the longboat. Ryo watched in amazement as Marta smoothly followed Jim, her eyes narrowed and focused as she took out the Shadows coming after the boy with her own Keyblade, Dream Deception.

"Lili!" Mili cried as laser fire surrounded them, forcing the three to duck down. "Got your charm?"

"Always." Lili nodded in confirmation as the twins knelt beside Ryo while Amelia and Delbert attacked the pirates.

"Then help me." Mili said as she took out Kovu's summoning charm.

"Of course." Lili smiled under her cowl as she took out her own summoning charm.

"Come on, Kovu!" Mili cried as the charm glowed.

"Lend me your strength, Peter!" Lili cried as her own charm glowed.

In unison, Peter Pan and Kovu appeared.

"Need a hand?" Peter grinned as he twirled his dagger.

"Yeah. Think you can help?" Lili asked.

"I'm always ready to help you!" Peter grinned. Lili chuckled as she remembered her first encounter with the leader of the Lost Boys.

"Ready Kovu?" Mili grinned.

"Aren't I always?" Kovu seemed to grin. Mili's grin widened, if that was possible, before her face became serious and she pointed at the pirates.

Lili shared the same look in her eyes as her older sister and followed her motions, in reverse this time.

"Go!" The twins cried.

Kovu snarled as he leapt at the pirate, clawing at them repeatedly.

Peter easily slipped through the pirates' defense, striking them with his dagger.

"You can summon?" Ryo gasped as he looked at Lili.

"Only Peter." Lili explained. "Our mother was a summoner, so I do have it in my blood, I'm just not powerful at it."

"Guys!" Marta called and the party turned to see her and Jim racing towards them.

"Now!" Amelia shouted and both she and Delbert fired. The longboat fell just as Marta and Jim jumped.

"Aerora!" Mili cried. However, the wind was weak due to Kovu still being summoned. The most the summoner could do was help the monk and boy grasp the longboat's side.

"Jim! Marta!" Delbert cried as he and Ryo pulled the two onto the longboat just before Amelia loosened the sail and they flew off to Treasure Planet's surface.

As they flew, Kovu and Peter flew over to them, courtesy of Tinkerbell's pixie dust, and returned to their respective charms.

"Thanks, Kovu!" Mili smiled.

"Thank you, Peter." Lili bowed her head as she panted from the exertion of summoning him.

"Captain! Laser ball at 12 o'clock!" Delbert suddenly shouted.

Within a second, the longboat was hit and everyone in the boat held on tightly. Soon, they reached the planet's surface and the boat flipped over until it finally stopped.

* * *

 **Location: Treasure Planet**

Together, Jim, Ryo and Delbert pushed the longboat up.

"Oh, goodness…that was more fun than I ever want to have again." Delbert sighed.

"Are all missions like this?" Ryo asked, looking at Marta.

"No…they're usually," Marta yawned halfway through her sentence. "smoother landings then this."

Amelia chuckled as she stood up.

"That's not one of my…gossamer landings." She admitted before she grunted in pain, holding her side as she fell to the ground.

"Captain!" Delbert cried as he knelt beside her.

"Are you okay?" Mili asked as she prepared to cast Cura while Delbert and Lili helped Amelia up and Jim, Ryo and Marta watched in concern, not sure what to do.

"Don't fuss." Amelia brushed them off as she stood only to collapse in Delbert's arms. "It's light bruising, that's all." Amelia denied as she stood up again. "Cup of tea, and I'll be right as rain. Mr. Hawkins. The map, if you please."

Jim dug in his pocket and took out the map with a breath of relief.

Only for the map to float and then turn into a laughing Morph.

"Oh no…" Ryo whispered in horror as he saw the shapeshifter.

"Morph! Morph! Where's the map?!" Jim demanded of the shapeshifter. Ryo felt like slapping himself and, to him, it seemed Lili was the least amused of his party by this situation.

Of course, while they were _probably_ worried, Ryo could overhear Mili and Marta whispering over how cute Morph was. Hearing her sister and friend's whispers, Lili slapped her forehead with a sigh.

Morph then shapeshifted into a pile of rope and the map, with the map going inside the rope.

"Are you _serious_?! It's back on the _ship_?!" Jim shouted as he pointed back at said ship, his eyes panicked. Morph simply giggled and began to fly around as Jim and Ryo tried to catch him.

"Stifle that blob and get low." Amelia suddenly ordered. The party looked up just as Jim managed to catch Morph, seeing the _RLS Legacy_ in the sky. "We've got company."

"Everyone get close to me, now." Lili instructed as she took a stance Ryo recognized that she had only taken when in training with Master Riku.

"What're you doing?" Marta asked, rubbing her eyes as she did so.

"Trust me." Lili stated as everyone hid under the top sized longboat, she took a deep breath and held her hands up. "Mirage."

Suddenly, copies of all of them stood a fair distance away, close enough that they could see them but far enough that nobody would notice them if they were near the copies.

"How-" Delbert started to ask.

"Lili is a ninja so she has the ability to use ninjutsu, it's her special ability the Masters call Ninja Arts." Mili explained. "She can't really multitask when she's doing it though, so no talking to her."

Thankfully, the _RLS Legacy_ passed overhead with no incidents and Lili slumped, the clones vanishing in a black flash.

"You okay?" Mili asked, worriedly as she supported her sister.

"Fine." Lili grunted as she tried to catch her breath.

Mili casted a Cura on her sister, to no avail. Lili continued to pant, a cold sweat clinging to her forehead.

"Sleep."

Suddenly, Lili collapsed into her sister's arms and Mili whirled around to see Marta holding her hand out towards the ninja.

"What was that for?!" Mili asked, angry at her sister's sudden collapse.

"She will heal more easily if she is asleep." Marta explained.

"You could've _warned_ us!" Mili retorted as she slowly laid her sister down.

"If you two are done squabbling, we need a more defensive position." Amelia cut in as she took out a laser gun. "Mr. Hawkins, Mr. Grace, you scout ahead." As the captain spoke, she passed the gun to Jim, who stared at it before his face became determined.

"Aye, Captain." He nodded.

"Yes, Captain." Ryo added, ready to summon Shattered Heart at a moment's notice.

Amelia suddenly cried out in pain, almost collapsing if Delbert hadn't caught her in time.

"Steady, steady." Delbert warned. "Now, let's have a look at that."

"Ms. Lesia, you go with Mr. Hawkins and Mr. Grace." Amelia managed to order while still in pain. "Ms.-"

"No offense, Captain, but I'm not leaving my sister like this." Mili cut in from her position kneeling beside Lili, who was still sleeping soundly.

"I would never suggest you would-ugh!" Amelia suddenly cried out in pain once again as Jim, Ryo and Marta walked away hesitantly, Morph floating at their side.

* * *

 **Location: Treasure Planet Forest**

"Well, aren't you a little cutie!" Marta grinned as Morph flew around her head and nuzzled her cheek.

"Yeah, and a pain in the butt sometimes too." Jim added.

"Oh, don't be so mean, Jim! It was an accident!" Marta protested.

"Sure, it was." Jim rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"I know sarcasm when I hear it, Jim." Marta retorted, hands on her hips.

"Come on, you two, we should be focusing on our job." Ryo cut in before Jim could retort.

"Have you been to a world like this before?" Jim asked, curious.

"Not me, this is my first mission." Ryo shook his head.

"I haven't seen too many worlds like this either." Marta shook her head. They continued walking through the forest of strange, mushroom like trees when Marta leaned closer to Ryo. "Do you sense it?"

"Yeah, but what is it?" Ryo asked, confused as to what he was sensing.

Suddenly, there was a rustling and Jim quickly shushed Morph.

"We're about to find out." Marta stated as Jim pulled out his laser gun, turned it on and approached the bushes where they had heard the noise.

Both Marta and Ryo took fighting stances, ready to back Jim up if something went wrong, Marta already having Charm and Sleep spells at the ready.

Suddenly, Jim and another voice screamed and Jim fell over only to reveal a _robot of all things_ on top of him.

"Jim!" Ryo and Marta cried in worry when…

"Oh, this is fantastic! A carbon-based life form come to rescue me at last!" The robot cried joyfully as Jim stood up while Marta and Ryo cautiously approached. "I just want to hug you and squeeze you and hold you close to me."

As the robot spoke, he did exactly what he said, hugging, squeezing and holding Jim. Even as Jim pushed him off, the robot jumped back onto him, causing his travel companions to start laughing at him and Jim to send a glare at said companions.

"Would you just let go of me?" Jim finally cried, exasperated.

"Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry." The robot apologized as he got off Jim only to put his arm around the teen as well as grabbing Ryo in the process. "It's just, I've been marooned for so long. I mean, solitude's fine, don't get me wrong. For heaven's sake, after a hundred years…" Suddenly, the robot's eyes were wide and his voice became a shriek. "You go a little nuts!"

The robot chuckled as he looked from Jim to Ryo, only to see both giving him looks that clearly said 'let go.'

"I'm sorry. Am I…I am, uh…my name is, uh…" The robot struggled to remember his name.

From his place on Jim's shoulder, Morph transformed into the robot and opened his head to reveal a cuckoo bird that went off.

Marta giggled and Ryo shook his head as Jim patted Morph on the head, causing him to shapeshift back.

"B.E.N!" The robot suddenly cried. "Of course, I'm B.E.N! Bioelectric Navigator." As he spoke, B.E.N tapped his chest only for it to open and he had to close it. "Oops. And you are?"

"Jim, that's Ryo and Marta." Jim answered as he tried to bend over to pick up the laser gun.

"Oh, what a pleasure to meet you, Jimmy!" B.E.N grinned as he shook Jim's reached out hand. "You as well, Martty and Ry!"

"Hey, he got my nickname!" Marta yawned as she tousled her hair.

"It's Jim." Jim corrected as he bent down again and grabbed the gun only for B.E.N to lean on his back, forcing him to push the robot off as he stood up. "Look, we're kinda in a hurry, okay?"

"We should probably get moving." Ryo said. "We need to find a place to hide before those pirates find us."

"Oh, pirates! Don't get me started on pirates!" B.E.N began to rant as Jim motioned they keep moving. Ryo nodded in agreement while Marta let out a quiet 'aw' as they began to walk away. "I don't like them! I remember Captain Flint. This guy had such a temper-"

At those words, Jim froze and walked back to the robot.

"Wait, wait, wait. You knew Captain Flint?" The boy asked.

"I think he suffered from mood swings, personally." B.E.N said as he sat down on a rock and leaned back, as if to relax.

"Is this really that important?" Marta asked softly, her eyes struggling to stay open.

"Wait…" Ryo whispered, "You sense that?" Marta paused as she listened.

"Yeah…Heartless." Marta nodded as the two tuned out of B.E.N and Jim's conversation about the treasure.

"Should we go after them?" Ryo asked, looking to Marta's experience over his own gut feeling.

"We gotta take them out, of course." Marta shook her head as she summoned Dream Deception.

The hilt of the Keyblade was soft and looked like pillows while a blue ruffle connected it to the teeth, which was a white fluffy sheep, the keychain that came off of it was a similarly looking sheep on a pillow.

"Right." Ryo nodded as he summoned Shattered Heart.

Once the Keyblade was in his hand, the knight stood in a crouch, his feet faced outward while his right hand held the grip of the Keyblade and the left hand held the blade itself.

Marta, on the other hand, leaned back while her hands were slightly forward and she began to move her arms up and down in an attempt to wake up a bit more.

When the Heartless came forward, they looked like a group of swamp monsters and robots, though they were similar in color, they were not like B.E.N.

Ryo ran forward first, distracting the Heartless by knocking them around with Shattered Heart, dodge rolling out of the way when he needed to. Of course, he didn't come out entirely unscathed as a robot dug it's claw into his right gauntlet. Though it didn't break, it would need to be mended later and, of course, the robot seemed to take advantage and cut into the distracted knight's shoulder.

 _Just my luck. I'm not surprised._

"Marta, are you ready yet?" Ryo called, his voice quite calm given the fact that he was surrounded by Heartless.

"Now!" Marta cried as she jumped into the air, her goggles now covering her eyes.

Quickly, Ryo dodged out of the way, just seconds before Marta unleashed the Confuse debuff she had embedded in Dream Deception and cut across as many Heartless as she could. Instantly, the Heartless that were struck, mostly the swamp monsters, turned on each other and began to fight who they _thought_ were their enemies. Taking advantage of the chaos, Marta began to punch the Heartless she hadn't hit in the face and kicked anyone who got too close.

"Marta, duck!" Ryo cried and the monk reacted a second before Shattered Heart went flying above where her head had been and took out a jumping swamp monster Heartless before it embedded itself in a mushroom tree.

"Thanks!" Marta grinned. "Slow!" Instantly, the Heartless charging for Ryo slowed to a snail's pace, giving the knight the chance to reach Shattered Heart.

"I didn't think that would work." Ryo admitted, a blush touching his cheeks as he reached Marta's side. _Most things I think of wouldn't work._

"But it worked, that's what matters!" Marta grinned. "How's your shoulder?"

"All healed, I took a potion while you kept them busy, thanks." Ryo nodded as he pushed a claw away from Marta's back.

"We're partners, that's what we do." Marta smiled before she suddenly flipped over Ryo and swiftly roundhouse kicked a Heartless into a tree. "Now, let's finish this."

"Right." Ryo nodded.

"Nap Time!" Marta smiled as she fell to the ground and began to sleep, healing light surrounding her as she did so.

"Blackened Blade!" Ryo cried as he took up a position in front of Marta. A dark aura surrounded him as the blade and long piece of Shattered Heart turned pitch black. As Heartless approached his sleeping partner, the knight moved at what appeared to be the speed of sound as he crushed the Heartless in a single swing, his strength stronger than ever before.

After a little over ten seconds, Marta stood up and quickly added a debuff to her Keyblade.

"Ready?" Ryo asked, still taking out the few Heartless that approached the monk.

"Ready." Marta nodded, her movements slower than they had been before.

"Now!" Ryo cried as he crouched down, letting Blackened Blade fade as Marta stood tall.

"Charm!" The monk cried. It was even stronger than the previous debuff, hitting every single Heartless around them, who in turn took out their allies in minutes until only one remained, one Ryo swiftly destroyed.

"Well, that's all of them." Ryo panted from the exertion.

"They came from the same source as the ship's." Marta noted as she banished Dream Deception, Ryo following her lead as he took off his gloves and began to wipe his forehead off, running his hands through his spiky black hair.

"I thought the same thing. What do we do?" Ryo asked.

"Once we regroup, we need to let Mili know. We'll have to decide on a course of action as a team." Marta explained.

"Right." Ryo nodded.

"By the way, that ring is so cute!" Marta squealed as she raised her goggles so they rested on top of her head. Ryo looked down at his silver skull ring and nodded.

"Uh, thanks." He mumbled as he put his gloves back on.

"Ryo! Marta! I found a place for us to hide!" Jim suddenly cried. The two world travelers turned to see the boy, Morph and B.E.N staring at them. "What happened here?"

"Minor trouble, we took care of it." Ryo smiled, waving it off.

"Well, if you're all ready, let's go to my home." B.E.N said.

"We're hiding in his home?" Marta suddenly yawned.

"Yeah, it's perfect. You guys follow B.E.N, I'll go get Delbert, Mili, Lili and the captain." Jim said.

"Alright, we'll see you there." Ryo nodded as the boy and shapeshifter went back the way they came while the world travelers followed the chatty robot.

"Jimmy's not around so I thought I'd talk to you two, Martty and Ry!"

 _Oh boy…_

* * *

 **Location: Treasure Planet Longboat Wreck**

"Come on, sis. Wake up soon." Mili whispered as she stared at said sister worriedly.

"You care about her quite a bit, don't you?" Delbert asked gently as he tried to help Amelia be comfortable.

"She's the only family I have left." Mili admitted. "Our parents and little sister are lost, as well as our surrogate aunts and uncles and we got separated from our surrogate cousins about nine years ago. And I have no idea where our adopted grandparents are or even our grandmother's spirit."

"I'm sorry, Mili. That sounds quite awful." Delbert looked down in sympathy.

"Not always." Mili shook her head with a smile. "Some days are better than others, but I know we're gonna find our world and everyone we lost someday. We just have to not give up and everything will work out."

"That's quite optimistic of you, Ms.-" Amelia started.

"Captain! Delbert! Mili!" Jim suddenly cried as he reached them, Morph at his side.

"Where are Marta and Ryo?!" Mili instantly demanded.

"It's okay, they're safe, we found a place to hide." Jim smiled before it fell. "Well, actually the owner of the place found us and-"

"Not the time, Jim!" Mili interrupted as she picked her sister up. "Come on, Captain Amelia and Lili need shelter!"

"Right!" Delbert nodded as he supported Amelia and the party of three humans, one dog, one cat and one shapeshifter made their way to safety.

* * *

 **Well, what'd you guys think? The Arabic sound, yes, it's in Arabic, is a song that will come into play later in this story and can be translated pretty close to the original on Google Translate, if you're curious to what it is. If anyone can guess what the world the girl singing in Arabic is on is and who finds her, you'll get a free spoiler just cause I like rewarding you guys! And what'd you think of the other OCs? I forgot to do this last chapter, so here's the credit for the OCs!**

 **Ryo belongs to Jay Hayden.**

 **Marta belongs to Meyneth24.**

 **Alexina and Mahir belong to EmeraldWings1992.**

 **Rickson and Sari belong to Antex-the Legendary Zoroark.**

 **Jack belongs to jackthehedgehog.**

 **Maia belongs to ShadowWolf223.**

 **And, of course, Mili belongs to Legacy918/Katon Dragonfly and Lili belongs to me!**

 **Next time, we're FINALLY gonna finish TP and…who knows what else, cause I decide on some of this stuff on the spot! Anyway, let me know what you thought in a review and I'll see you guys soon!**

 **May your heart be your guiding key! (Also, yes, Union X killed me in a matter of minutes. What about you guys?)**


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